The Morgan Library & Museum: Loeffler's Forgotten Octet
$45.50 ($34.50 Library member)
- Emi Ferguson, flute
- Graeme Steele Johnson, clarinet
- David Shifrin, clarinet
- Bridget Kibbey, harp
- Stella Chen, violin
- Siwoo Kim, violin
- Matthew Lipman, viola
- Samuel DeCaprio, cello
- Sam Suggs, double bass
Jean Sibelius — En Saga ("A Saga"), Op. 9 (reconstruction of original version for flute, clarinet, string quartet, & double bass)
Charles Martin Loeffler — Octet for two clarinets, harp, string quartet, and double bass (NY premiere)
In April 2020, clarinetist Graeme Steele Johnson discovered the unpublished manuscript to a forgotten, 127-year-old Octet in the archives of the Library of Congress by the Berlin-born, Boston-based composer Charles Martin Loeffler (1861-1935), one of the most performed American composers of his time. Johnson spent a year reconstructing the Octet's score from the 75-page manuscript, creating the first critical edition of the music and revealing a kaleidoscopic piece, newly recorded and performed by a stellar group of musicians in its long-awaited New York premiere. Graeme Steele Johnson, clarinet, David Shifrin, clarinet, Bridget Kibbey, harp, Stella Chen, violin, Siwoo Kim, violin, Matthew Lipman, viola, Samuel DeCaprio, cello, and Sam Suggs, double bass, with Emi Ferguson, flute.
About Emi Ferguson, flute
Hailed by critics for her “tonal bloom” and “hauntingly beautiful performances,” English-American performer and composer Emi Ferguson stretches the boundaries of what is expected of modern-day musicians. Emi’s unique approach to the flute can be heard in performances that alternate between the Silver Flute, Historical Flutes, and Auxiliary Flutes, playing repertoire that stretches from the Renaissance to today.
Ms. Ferguson can be heard live in concerts and festivals around the world as a soloist and with groups including AMOC*, the New York New Music Ensemble, the Handel and Haydn Society, and the Manhattan Chamber Players. She has spoken and performed at several TEDX events and has been featured on media outlets including The Discovery Channel, Vox's "Explained" series on Netflix, Amazon's The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, and Juilliard Digital's TouchPress apps talking about how music relates to our world today. Her debut album, Amour Cruel, an indie-pop song cycle inspired by the music of the 17th century French court was released by Arezzo Music in September 2017, spending 4 weeks on the Classical, Classical Crossover, and World Music Billboard Charts. Her 2019 album Fly the Coop: Bach Sonatas and Preludes, a collaboration with continuo band Ruckus debuted at #1 on the iTunes classical charts and #2 on the Billboard classical charts, and was called “blindingly impressive...a fizzing, daring display of personality and imagination” by The New York Times.
Emi Ferguson is passionate about developing new music and has premiered works by many of today's leading composers. She has been a featured performer at the Marlboro Music, Lake Champlain, and Lucerne Festivals, Portland Bach Festival, Bach Virtuosi Festival, June in Buffalo, Twickenham Fest, and Chamberfest Dubuque, and has performed and taught with Juilliard Global in Brazil, pianoSonoma in California, Juilliard Baroque in Germany, and Les Arts Florissants in France and has been featured as a soloist and ambassador for Elliott Carter’s music in China and Japan.
As a historical Flutist, in addition to her appointment as Principal Flute of the Handel and Haydn Society, Emi Ferguson is a frequent guest artist with period ensembles including Tafelmusik. She can also be heard with period instrument groups including Voices of Music, the American Classical Orchestra, and Trinity Baroque Orchestra. She was the only flutist accepted to Juilliard’s inaugural Historical Performance class, and has performed alongside William Christie and Les Arts Florrisants, and with Christophe Hammer, Massaki Suzuki, Christopher Hogwood, and Nicholas McGegan.
Emi Ferguson is currently on the faculty of the Juilliard School teaching Ear Training, the Bach Virtuosi Festival, and has taught on the faculty of the University of Buffalo. Emi was the first person to have graduated from Juilliard with Undergraduate and Graduate degrees with Scholastic Distinction in flute performance, as well as a second Graduate degree in Historical Performance as a Paul and Daisy Soros Fellow. Her principal teachers have been Carol Wincenc, Sandra Miller, Robert Langevin, and Judy Grant. Born in Japan and raised in London and Boston, she now resides in New York City.
https://www.emiferguson.com/About Graeme Steele Johnson, clarinet
Praised for his "elegant and rounded sound" (Albany Times Union) and "effortless...unmatched" technique (The Clarinet Online), Graeme Steele Johnson is an artist of uncommon imagination and versatility.
His diverse artistic endeavors range from a TEDx talk comparing Mozart and Seinfeld, to his reconstruction of a forgotten 125-year-old work by Charles Martin Loeffler, to performances of Mozart's Clarinet Concerto in its original form on an elongated clarinet that he commissioned. Johnson’s recent and upcoming performances include appearances at the Library of Congress, Chamber Music Northwest, Bridgehampton Chamber Music Festival, Ravinia, Phoenix Chamber Music Festival, Emerald City Music, Maverick Concerts, Music Mountain and Yellow Barn, as well as solo recitals at The Kennedy Center and Chicago’s Dame Myra Hess series. He is also a regular performer at the Annapolis Chamber Music Festival, Archipelago Collective Chamber Music Festival, and Caroga Lake Music Festival. As a concerto soloist, he has performed twice with the Vienna International Orchestra, as well as with the Springfield Symphony Orchestra, Caroga Arts Ensemble, Vermont Mozart Festival Orchestra, and the CME Chamber Orchestra.
Since 2022, he has served as the clarinetist of the award-winning quintet WindSync (MKI Artists), one of only two American wind quintets with a full-time, international touring schedule.
Driven by his interest in shedding fresh perspective on familiar music, Johnson has authored numerous chamber arrangements of repertoire ranging from Mozart and Debussy to Gershwin and Messiaen, and performed them around the country with such artists as the Miró Quartet, Valerie Coleman, and Han Lash. His arrangements have also been championed around the world, with performances by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (Australia), Moscow Conservatory, and the La Jolla Music Society.
Johnson is the winner of the Hellam Young Artists’ Competition and the Yamaha Young Performing Artists Competition; other recent accolades include the Saint Botolph Club Foundation's Emerging Artist Award and the inaugural Lee Memorial Scholarship from the Center for Musical Excellence. He has recorded commercially for Hyperion Records, MSR Classics, and Musica Solis Productions, as well as a recent recording project at Abbey Road Studios with WindSync.
http://www.graemesteelejohnson.com