Flutist Emi Ferguson & Clarinetist Joshua Rubin Present Two West Coast Premieres & More at Sierra Madre Playhouse, 10/24 at Sierra Madre Playhouse

Celebrated flutist Emi Ferguson and critically acclaimed clarinetist Joshua Rubin explore the unexpected with a program of Baroque and contemporary music, entitled “Double Yolk,” which showcases their individual artistry and collaborative synergy on a selection of captivating works for solo instrument and duo, on Friday, October 24, 2025, 8:00 pm, at Sierra Madre Playhouse. 

Ferguson explains the program’s title, “It can be so delightful to crack open an egg and find two yolks staring back at you! ‘Double Yolk’ celebrates the unexpected, featuring rich exploration of works written and arranged for the flute and clarinet that highlight nature and conversation. The program brings together modern experimentation and baroque conversation.”

Highlights include the West Coast premieres of Dia Fujikura’s Twin Tweets, a clarinet duo inspired by two birds gliding together in the sky, and Michael Hersch’s unwrung, apart, always, composed for solo flute and built around text fragments by German poet Anja Utler.

Also featured are an excerpt from John Cage’s Litany for the Whale, a call and response vocal piece composed in 1980 that has been arranged for flute and clarinet, and Chinese-born American composer Lei Liang’s Lake, which, she notes, “reflects the silent surface of water on which performers could inscribe their signatures in sounds.” 

Providing contrasting aural texture are works by three Baroque era composers, Georg Philipp Telemann’s Canonic Sonata No. 1; H.I.F. Biber’s Passacaglia arranged for flute and clarinet, which comes from a collection of sonatas originally composed in 1676 for violin and continuo; and Chi si può fare by Venetian composer and vocalist Barbara Strozi, one of the first female composers of secular music to have her music published under her own name.

Ferguson, “a glorious flutist” (Los Angeles Times) who was awarded the 2023 Avery Fisher Career Grant, brings an innovative approach to classical and modern music. Rubin, a founding member of the International Contemporary Ensemble, is "incapable of playing an inexpressive note" (The New York Times), infusing every note with depth and emotion.

For tickets ($12-$35) and information, please call 626.355.4318 or visit www.sierramadreplayhouse.org. Sierra Madre Playhouse is located at 87 West Sierra Madre Boulevard, Sierra Madre, CA 91024.