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 conductors, orchestras, and artists. She fondly recalls having played the first percussion concerto in the history of the BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall in 1992, which paved the way for orchestras around the world to feature percussion concertos. She had the honour of a leading role in the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Glennie regularly provides masterclasses and consultations designed to guide the next generation. With over 90 international awards to date, including the Polar Music Prize and the Companion of Honour, Glennie is also a leading commissioner of new works for solo percussion, with more than 200 pieces to her name from 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. To this day, Glennie continues to invest in realising her vision—to Teach the World to Listen—while looking to open a centre that embodies her mission: ‘to improve communication and social cohesion by encouraging everyone to discover new ways of listening. We want to inspire, to create, to engage and to empower.’

For more information, visit www.evelyn.co.uk.

Interview with Evelyn Glennie