Dame Evelyn Glennie has been awarded the Musicians’ Company’s inaugural Julian Bream Award. This award honours the lifetime achievement of an internationally recognised instrumentalist who has contributed original and innovative work to the culture of their chosen instrument. The Julian Bream Award was established in 2023 to coincide with Julian Bream’s 90th anniversary. It will be awarded every three years and Dame Evelyn Glennie is the first recipient.
The winner of the Julian Bream, Award shall be notable for having achieved significance in several of the following categories:
- Classical Performance
- Improvised Performance
- Significant repertoire expansion in new works and arrangements
- The creation of new audiences through inventive programming and collaborations
- Innovation in instrument design
- Teaching, pedagogy and editorial practice
- Charitable engagement
It is notable that Dame Evelyn Glennie fulfils all these criteria and therefore could not be a more suitable winner of this award, Dame Evelyn is the first person in history to create and sustain a full-time career as a solo percussionist, performing worldwide with the greatest orchestras and artists. Evelyn paved the way for orchestras globally to feature percussion concerti when she played the first percussion concerto in the history of the Proms at the Royal Albert Hall in 1992.
A leading commissioner of new works, Evelyn has commissioned over 200 works from many of the world’s most eminent composers. Evelyn composes music for film, television, theatre and music library companies. She is a double GRAMMY award winner and BAFTA nominee. She regularly provides masterclasses and consultations to inspire the next generation of musicians.
Leading 1000 drummers, Evelyn had a prominent role in the Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games which featured a new instrument, the Glennie Concert Aluphone.
Evelyn’s solo recordings currently exceed 40 CDs. These range from original improvisations, collaborations, percussion concerti and ground-breaking modern solo percussion projects.
Evelyn was awarded an OBE in 1993 and has over 100 international awards to date, including the Polar Music Prize, the Léonie Sonning Music Prize and the Companion of Honour. She was appointed as the first female President of Help Musicians, only the third person to hold the title since Sir Edward Elgar and Sir Peter Maxwell Davies. Since 2021 she has been Chancellor of Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen, Scotland.
The Evelyn Glennie Podcast was launched in 2020 featuring popular personalities from the world of music, sport, television and academia. Evelyn curates The Evelyn Glennie Collection which includes in excess of 3,800 percussion instruments. The film Touch the Sound and TED Talk are key testimonies to her unique and innovative approach to sound-creation. Continuing her mission to Teach the World to Listen, she founded The Evelyn Glennie Foundation in 2023, which aims to improve communication and social cohesion by encouraging everyone to discover new ways of listening in order to inspire, to create, to engage and to empower.
Dame Evelyn Glennie said:
“I am very humbled to be the first musician to receive The Julian Bream Award, and cannot thank The Musicians’ Company enough for bestowing this wonderful honour upon me. Any type of recognition allows time for reflection which in turn gives further impetus and vigour towards crystalizing the vision and actions of the future.”
Associated with its widespread support for young musicians, the Musicians’ Company has a long tradition of recognising creative talent and the contribution that distinguished artists have made to the music profession.
Each year the Musicians’ Company, one of the oldest and most respected charitable companies in the City of London, donates over £250,000 in scholarships and awards in support of young musicians at the start of their careers across all musical disciplines.