Passion and intellect meld in THE BOOK OF SPELLS, The Merian Ensemble’s hotly anticipated debut album. THE BOOK OF SPELLS offers a gripping and intimate portrait of modern chamber music, performed with brilliance and precision by an ensemble of world-class soloists who are dedicated to the elevation of women’s voices in classical music.
Today, the members of The Merian Ensemble are our featured artists in the “Inside Story,” a blog series exploring the inner workings and personalities of our composers and performers. Read on to learn about their first experiences as young performers, and how they prepare for performances today…
What were your first musical experiences?
Elisabeth Remy Johnson: I remember my first musical experience with the harp vividly. I was 6 years old, and my mother took me to a harp concert at a church. We walked up to the front to look at the harp, and the harpist told me she was tuning for the concert just then, but I could touch it afterwards. I remember sitting through the concert, wondering the whole time if she really meant it. She did, and let me pull my finger across the strings afterwards. That was it, I was in love with the sound and feel of the harp. My parents rented me a tiny little harp, and I started lessons with that harpist shortly afterwards!
Tell us about your first performance.
Christina Smith: One of my first performances was when I was 9 years old. My flute teacher connected me with another young musician, who happened to be a female composer/pianist who had won a competition with a piece she had written for flute and piano. I had the honor of recording the new piece, with the young composer at the piano, for our local PBS station, and it was broadcast on a TV show featuring young musicians. Perhaps this collaboration with a female composer so early in my life was the harbinger of my passion and work with The Merian Ensemble!
How have your influences changed as you grow as a musician?
Marci Gurnow: I like to imagine myself as a sponge, always absorbing as much good as I can from the world around me. Whether through travel, friendships, or even just a good book, there is often something new that presents itself if we’re open to receiving. As I continue to grow as a musician, my own life experiences help add to what I bring to music making. Being surrounded by incredible colleagues inspires me to listen from different perspectives and allows me to expand my own horizons in response and collaboration.
What advice would you give to your younger self if given the chance?
Jessica Oudin: I wish I could tell my younger self to take more risks — both musically and personally. After all, aren’t our musical selves inextricably linked to who we are as people?! The realization that you can truly learn more when something doesn’t go according to plan is so powerful; a mistake may take you in an entirely unexpected — and yet beautiful — new direction. The belief that imperfection might release unrivaled creativity is hard to grasp; however, I’ve felt my most free and (hopefully!) artistically compelling onstage when I suddenly stop worrying about technical execution and perfection. The courage to truly stand out and not be afraid to be different — the bravery to use your own voice regardless of what you worry others may think — is a challenge that never really goes away; this is admittedly a skill that I am still working on! However, I’m realizing that when one feels emboldened to take these risks, the possibilities are endless.
I wish I could tell my younger self to take more risks. The risk is worth it.
Where and when are you at your most creative?
Emily Brebach: This is a great question to get right in the middle of summer festival season, because I’m at my most creative when I’m surrounded by newness: new music, new people, and new places are so invigorating! The excitement of opening up a new commission for The Merian Ensemble, the nervous energy of playing with people I haven’t met before at a summer festival like the one I’m at now, and seeing the beauty of our country’s national parks are all refreshing for my creative juices. I feel lucky that I get to do all three in the summertime. The Merian Ensemble’s dedication to commissioning new works is always a welcome jolt of energy during the year as well. It’s both an honor and a responsibility to take on a composer’s work for the first time, and with it comes an opportunity to open my mind to new sounds and ideas that are crucial to expanding my creative world.
How do you prepare for a performance?
Elisabeth Remy Johnson: A thrilling part of preparing for our performances is getting to know our newest works – our commissions and the composers who write them. Quite frequently, we’ve been able to have Zoom sessions with the composers during early rehearsals. When we commissioned Kimberly Osberg, Christina and Elisabeth had a zoom chat with Kim to get to know each other better even before the piece was written. Knowing the connection several of us have to the Grand Teton Music Festival led Kim to choose the story of the first “manless” ascent of the Grand Teton in 1939 for her work, Just Another Climb. Our collaboration with Lynne Plowman was funded in part by Wales Arts International, so Lynne was able to fly to Atlanta for our final rehearsals and the premiere of Small World. When Nicole Chamberlain found out that several of us are runners, she was inspired to set the scene of a runner moving through the streets and parks of Atlanta in Atalanta. Since Nicole lives in Atlanta, we were able to work together in person frequently, and she was present both for the premiere and for when we performed Atalanta at the TEDWomen conference in fall 2023.
The Merian Ensemble is a chamber music group dedicated to promoting the standard of an inclusive repertoire. The group was formed in 2018 by five women musicians from the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, determined to counteract the striking dearth of women composers programmed in classical music settings. Even today, research shows that of 111 major orchestras across 31 countries, only 7.7% of works played were written by women. (Donne – Women in Music, 2022). Through their “Listen: Works by Women” initiatives, the Merian Ensemble performs the abundant repertoire of music by women and commissions a new work each year.
