The British Solo Percussionist Evelyn Glennie is next year’s recipient of Denmark’s biggest music prize, The Léonie Sonning Music Prize. Glennie, who despite being deaf has established a unique and impressive career, will receive the esteemed prize during a special tribute concert in DR Koncerthuset on the 15th of June 2023, with several affiliated events taking place in collaboration with DR and music conservatories across the country, among others.
The Léonie Sonning Music Prize will for the first time be awarded to a percussionist. The chairman of The Léonie Sonning Music Foundation, Esben Tange, explains the choice of Glennie as this year’s recipient of the prize:
“Evelyn Glennie is a pioneer. Since her breakthrough in the 1980’s, she has been the first to establish a full-time career as a solo percussionist. With her more than 200 specially commissioned pieces and eclectic collaborations with a wide variety of musicians and contemporary composers from Scotland’s James MacMillan to Iceland’s Björk, she completely transcends boundaries. Through her development of extreme bodily awareness, this has enabled Evelyn Glennie to perform as a professional musician at the highest level – despite losing her hearing from the age of 8. She has gone on to broaden the understanding of music and how we listen to music.”
In addition to her career as a solo percussionist, Evelyn Glennie has also established herself as a composer. Her career is documented through her award-winning film Touch the Sound and her book Listen World!
Celebrations in February and June 2023
As the recipient of The Léonie Sonning Music Prize, Danish audiences can look forward to experiencing Evelyn Glennie when she visits Denmark on several occasions during 2023. During this time, the audience will be able to experience the multiple facets that have contributed to Glennie being chosen as the prize recipient. Already on February the 18th and 19th, it will be possible to meet Evelyn Glennie as she will partake in a conversation with radio host and music presenter, Bendikte Granvig, about how she, as a musician who is deaf, listens with her whole body. The conversation, which also includes musical demonstrations, will take place at the DR Koncerthuset in connection with the performance ‘For Deaf Ears’, and is organised in collaboration with OperaNord and DR Musikariet.
At the award concert on the 15th of June 2023, Glennie will perform as a soloist in the company of the DR Symphony Orchestra, where they will perform among others James MacMillan’s iconic Veni, Veni Emmanuel for percussion and orchestra. The evening also offers a very special tribute to the recipient, when 35 professional and student percussionists from across Denmark pay tribute to the award winner with a specially commissioned piece in DR Koncerthuset. The day after the award concert, Evelyn Glennie will give an artist talk and a masterclass at the Royal Danish Conservatorium.
Refused to attend a school for the deaf
The story of Evelyn Glennie significantly stands out from other musicians. Evelyn Glennie was born on a farm outside the city of Aberdeen, Scotland in 1965. Yet the unusual story only begins at the age of eight when she had problems with her hearing. At the age of twelve, she was profoundly deaf. Also at this age she was introduced to percussion. However, Glennie refused to let her deafness define her life. She chose not to go to a school for the deaf. Instead, she went on to become a professional musician. Glennie taught herself to lipread and trained her musical experience and understanding by feeling the resonance of music throughout her body. This resulted in Glennie joining the Royal Academy of Music, London at aged 16 before she embarked on her career as a soloist. One of her distinct characteristics when performing is that she often performs barefoot, to be able to get the feeling of the vibrations that the music provides.
“When the vision of being a solo percussionist formed in my mind at the age of 15, never had I imagined that it would take me on an unforgettable journey. The experience of collaborating with composers, orchestras and so many other creative spirits over the years fills me with immense gratitude. The feeling of still being inspired and curious is fueled by the many people whom I meet, work with and the many experiences that come my way – planned and unplanned. Inspiration is all around us but sometimes we need time to reflect on where we have come from, where we presently are and what our hopes are for the future” Glennie explains.
The Léonie Sonning Music Prize has been awarded since 1959, where the influential composer Igor Stravinskij was the first to receive the prize. Since then, the music prize has gone on to become Denmark’s most important Music prize. This year’s recipient of The Léonie Sonning Music Prize was the French pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard. With the award, comes 1.000.000 Danish Kroner. Glennie is honored to receive the award.
“To be the recipient of the 2023 Sonning Music Prize is simply one of the greatest honors in my journey. I humbly try to do my best in all I embark on, always aiming to learn from each experience. To receive this Prize has allowed me the opportunity to pause and reflect. Most importantly, the Prize reflects real celebration and inclusiveness. This is so important, and I’m delighted that the next generation of creative minds are able to participate in the celebrations of this extremely special Prize”.
Evelyn Glennie and Denmark
The collaboration between DR and Léonie Sonning’s Music Foundation is a source of joy for the head of the DR Koncerthuset, Kim Bohr, who is looking forward to taking part in the celebration of next year’s prize winner:
“Evelyn Glennie is living proof of how important music is to us as human beings and how deeply it is rooted in our bodies and minds. We are delighted that DR Koncerthuset and Léonie Sonning’s Music Foundation can together provide the setting for a wide-ranging musical tribute that reflects the award winner’s versatile and creative nature. Literally every corner of Koncerthuset will be in play as we invite audiences to both artist talk, the music performance “For Deaf Ears”, a tribute concert and award ceremony – in close collaboration with DR Musikariet, P2 and conservatories across the country.”
Evelyn Glennie’s history with Denmark dates back many years and she has previously been praised for her performances in Denmark.
In November 1995, Evelyn Glennie had a concert with the pianist Philip Smith at the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art. During that occasion, Jens Brincker in Berlingske Tidende wrote “The British Evelyn Glennie is a phenomenon… with bare feet solidly planted on the ground like antennas, she stood in the concert hall of Louisiana and could sense the vibrations from the marimba in her body. She transformed this into rhematic tensions and impulses…rarely do you experience modern compositional music played with such a physical presence and charisma.”
Evelyn Glennie was one of the first percussionists that made use of the Danish developed percussion instrument the Aluphone and used it during her performance for the opening of the Olympics in London 2012. In January 2014, Evelyn Glennie premiered Anders Koppels Concerto for Aluphone (doubling Marimba) and Orchestra during two sold-out concerts with Odense Symphony Orchestra. There is now a model specifically called the Glennie Concert Aluphone.
In addition to several concertos by Anders Koppel, Evelyn Glennie has also been a soloist in percussion concertos by Per Nørgård and Poul Ruders.
Read more below about the program of Evelyn Glennie’s visit to Denmark next year.
Léonie Sonning Music Prize Logo
For more information contact:
Kristina Sindberg, kristina.sindberg@gknordic.com, phone: +45 24860184
Director for Léonie Sonning’s Musik Foundation, Esben Tange, et@sonningmusik.dk
Read more about previous recipients of The Léonie Sonning Music Prize, talent prizes and more here.
Sonning’s Music Prize 2023 – Program
For Deaf Ears + Meet Evelyn Glennie artist talk
18th February and 19th February 2023, 12.00 – 14.30 and 13.30 – 16.00
DR Koncerthuset
Can you feel the vibrations of music with your body, without using your sense of hearing? An afternoon at DR Koncerthuset about what it means to hear and listen.
For Deaf Ears – a music performance by OperaNord
The musical performance For Deaf Ears by OperaNord in Studio 3 takes you into the resonant space of your body, where you not only hear and feel the music that meets you, but also sense the world around you that you are cut off from.
The audience is equipped with headphones, and during the performance the sound perception is manipulated so that you, for example, are cut off from parts of the work’s sound frequencies or experience some of the special overtones that can often be felt by the hearing impaired in connection with high notes.
The music for For Deaf Ears is created by soprano Katinka Fogh Vindelev and is written specific to the 16-year-old deaf girl Lova Heick, and 70-year-old rock singer Lotte Rømer, who is suffering from hearing loss and tinnitus. The sound collective WeLikeWe, harpist Lovisa Wennesz and flautist Julius Ditlevsen.
Artist talk with Evelyn Glennie – recipient of the Léonie Sonning Music Prize 2023
Following ‘For Deaf Ears’, Léonie Sonning’s Music Foundation invites you to an exclusive ‘Artist talk’ in Studio 2, where you can get close to percussion phenomenon Evelyn Glennie as both a musician and a human being.
Evelyn Glennie has in every way blown up the boundaries of what we traditionally understand by a musician. Her ability to feel the music without being able to hear it, and to express herself on all types of percussion instruments, is magical for anyone who experiences her. Despite her lack of hearing, she has developed into one of the world’s leading solo percussionists. The event will be hosted by radio host and music presenter Benedikte Granvig, and Evelyn Glennie will demonstrate musical examples throughout the conversation.
Award Concert – 15th June 2023
DR Koncerthuset
With three wide-ranging percussion concerts that play an important role in Evelyn Glennie’s long career as a solo percussion virtuoso, we get close to both Glennie’s phenomenal musicianship and deep into the wondrous world of percussion. Scotland’s James MacMillan’s Veni, Veni Emmanuel, which Evelyn Glennie premiered at the Royal Albert Hall, London in 1992, is based on an ancient Advent hymn. American Michael Daugherty’s Dreamachine was also premiered by Evelyn Glennie. The concert is a tribute to several inventors who dreamed up new machines, some of which remained in the imagination. Icelandic Áskell Másson’s Konzertstück is a musical tour de force, with the snare drum walking the tightrope in tandem with the large symphony orchestra.
Evelyn Glennie Tribute
Opening concert in the foyer and the square in front of DR Koncerthuset
18.45 – 19.15
Composer Søren Monrad has created a mega percussion work for performance inside and outside the DR Koncerthuset Foyer. With a total of 35 percussion students from the Danish music conservatories and with Morten Friis as soloist, the focus is on the diverse sound possibilities and forms of expression of percussion. The inspiration for the work comes from three of the messages that Evelyn Glennie has pioneered for decades: ‘Make the world listen’, ‘Feel the music’ and ‘Hear the silence’.
The Concert Overture is produced in collaboration with DR Musikariet.
In DR Koncerthuset
19.30
James MacMillan: Veni, Veni Emmanuel Concert for percussion and orchestra (1991-92) (25′)
- Introit – Advent
- Heartbeat
- Dance – Hocket
- Conduct: Sequence I
- Gaude, Gaude
- Transition: Sequence II
- Coda – Easter
Interval
Michael Daugherty: Dreamachine for solo percussion and orchestra (2014) (35′)
- Da Vinci’s Wings. Marimba.
- Rube Goldbergs Variationer. Small handheld instruments.
- Electric Eel.
- Vulcans smedje. snare drum
Award Ceremony
Áskell Másson: Concert piece for small drums and orchestra (10′)
DR Symfoniorkestret
Dirigent: Geoffrey Paterson
16th June 2023
The Royal Danish Music Conservatorium
Artist talk. 11.00-12.00
Moderator Uffe Savery – Talk and questions from audience. Free access.
Masterclass 12.30-14.30
Students from the Danish music conservatorium. Free access.