Evelyn Glennie
Dame Evelyn Glennie is the first person in history to successfully create and sustain a full-time career as a solo percussionist, performing worldwide with the greatest orchestras, conductors and artists. She fondly recalls having played the first percussion concerto in the history of The Proms at the Albert Hall in 1992, which paved the way for orchestras around the world to feature percussion concerti. She had the honour of a leading role in the Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games.
Evelyn regularly provides masterclasses and consultations designed to guide the next generation. She is also a leading commissioner of over 200 new pieces for solo percussion for many of the world’s most eminent composers. The film ‘Touch the Sound’ and her enlightening TED speech remain key testimonies to her approach to sound-creation.
Evelyn was awarded an OBE in 1993 and now has over 100 international awards to date, including the Polar Music Prize and the Companion of Honour. Evelyn continues to inspire and motivate people from all walks of life. Her masterclasses and consultations are designed to guide the next generation.
Evelyn is currently embarking on the formation of The Evelyn Glennie Collection. The vision is to open a centre that embodies her mission to Teach the World to Listen. She aims to ‘improve communication and social cohesion by encouraging everyone to discover new ways of listening as proven in her book ‘Listen World!’. We want to inspire, to create, to engage and to empower’.
An evening of music and conversation at City Lit with Dame Evelyn Glennie
Dame Evelyn Glennie visited City Lit on Thursday 26 May for an evening of music and conversation. She discussed her life and career with City Lit Principal Mark Malcomson, demonstrated the incredible sounds of some of her favourite instruments, and celebrated her latest achievement of becoming a City Lit Lifetime Fellow.
‘I am hugely honoured to be awarded a City Lit Lifetime Fellowship. I have long admired the inclusive mind-set of City Lit and how it provides such depth and breadth of education, ensuring that the role it plays makes a difference to people’s lives and the world we live in. It’s a great privilege to be part of such superb institution.’
