What does ‘listening’ mean to you?
Do you think only of sound? Or does it also mean being still, attentive, and present with someone?
For Dame Evelyn Glennie, world-renowned percussionist and Patron of the City Lit Percussion Orchestra, listening goes far beyond hearing. Profoundly deaf since childhood, she experiences music through vibration, often performing barefoot to feel sound through her body.
“Listening can be an act of connection, empathy and transformation,” she reflected, “it is time – a gift of patience and presence. Perhaps the most radical act we can offer is not our voice, but our listening.”
This idea is the crux of Listen Up! – a new two-week residency which has just launched at City Lit.
What is Listen Up!?
At the heart of Listen Up! is The Evelyn Glennie Foundation’s belief that listening is a vital social skill. The Foundation’s vision is of a society where communication and social cohesion are improved through the act of listening, and its mission is to teach the world to listen. This residency offers an invitation to slow down, pay attention and explore how listening — in all its forms — can deepen connection with ourselves, with others and with the world around us.
Listen Up! invites visitors to explore listening through:
- Sound
- Vibration
- Touch
- Silence
- Reflection
Rather than passively hearing, it encourages active, full-body listening.
The exhibition
The residency includes an exhibition in the City Lit Gallery, running until 18 May.
Being a world-famous percussionist, Dame Evelyn has amassed an impressive collection of instruments – over 3,800, according to her Foundation. A number of these can be experienced up close at City Lit, including:
- 60” Tam-tam
- Gong drum
- Trongos
- Glennie Concert Aluphone
Also on display are musical scores from across Glennie’s career. One highlight is “Caliban’s Dream”, created for the 2012 London Olympic Games Opening Ceremony, where she performed.
Why City Lit?
City Lit is a natural home for this project. The college brings together people from all walks of life to enrich lives through learning. It celebrates creative exploration and different ways of engaging with the world.
Dame Evelyn Glennie herself also has close ties here. She is a City Lit Lifetime Fellow and, in 2024, became Patron of the City Lit Percussion Orchestra. The orchestra partners learning disabilities students with musicians from the Royal Academy of Music to perform throughout the country.
“Dame Evelyn Glennie has been an extraordinary friend to City Lit… and a champion of inclusive, imaginative learning,” City Lit Principal Mark Malcomson said.
“We’re thrilled to be working closely with her on Listen Up! – a project that opens up listening as a shared, communal practice that everyone can engage with.”
VIDEO: Dame Evelyn Glennie talking about Listen Up! - the brand new residency at City Lit.
Plan your trip
The residency is running in the City Lit Gallery until 18 May. It is open to everyone, especially those curious about sound, perception and connection.
An additional in-the-round listening experience with Evelyn Glennie and the City Lit Percussion Orchestra will take place on 13 May (invite-only).
D/deaf and hard‑of‑hearing visitors are encouraged to attend. All video content in the exhibition will include captions, and City Lit’s hearing‑loop systems will be available throughout the venue.
Study at Music at City Lit
Percussion is only one aspect of sound and music. Explore everything from music production to clarinet at City Lit.
