Emma John is a horn player originating from Perth, where she studied music performance at the University of Western Australia. She completed her undergraduate studies under the tutelage of Julia Brooke (WASO) in 2023 before commencing studies at ANAM in 2024. Emma is excited to continue at ANAM in 2025 with Carla Blackwood and Ben Jacks, as well as the many visiting artists that ANAM receives. In 2024 Emma was able to perform in masterclasses with Sarah Willis, Katy Woolley, and Přemysl Vojta.
Emma enjoys the many different avenues that horn playing offers. She loves chamber music, especially being part of a wind quintet or horn quartet, and has taken a recent interest in modern solo works for horn. Extending the capabilities of her own playing, and the possibilities of the sounds the instrument can produce, she finds contemporary works by Australian composers fascinating. Emma’s true passion lies in orchestral playing, where as a horn player they love every composer from Mozart to Strauss to Webern. Emma is in demand as an orchestral horn player across the country, playing regularly with Orchestra Victoria, the West Australian Symphony Orchestra, the Australian Youth Orchestra and the Perth Symphony Orchestra.
In recent years, Emma has been awarded the Peter Knight and Clough Music Scholarships for residency at St George's College, the Peter Moore OAM Scholarship, the Christine Morhall Prize (for highest mark in a brass recital), and the Wesley Uniting Church Music Scholarship, all of which have given her opportunities to foster her passion for orchestral, chamber and solo performance.
In her spare time Emma takes a keen interest in marine biology, loves to swim, snorkel, and read up on new discoveries in scientific journals!
FROM: WA. Lands of the Wadjuk people of the Nyoongar nation.
Emma is supported by ANAM Syndicate donors Bill and Sandra Burdett.
Photo by Pia Johnson