Evelyn Glennie and Scheherazade

Brighton Philharmonic Orchestra 2024/25 Season: Dame Evelyn Glennie joins Brighton Philharmonic for a dazzling programme, from the Scottish Highlands to fairy tales from Arabia.

We’re thrilled that one of Britain’s greatest and pioneering musicians, the extraordinary percussionist Evelyn Glennie, will be joining us to perform one of her signature pieces: James MacMillan’s Veni, Veni, Emmanuel, written as a tribute to her virtuosic flair and charismatic personality. Taking the Advent plainsong as the basis of the work, this is a tour de force and still packs the punch it had at its BBC Proms premiere twenty years ago. Now in the pantheon of contemporary classics, it still sounds wonderfully imaginative, rhythmically impulsive and vibrantly colourful, and will be an unforgettable experience.

Veni Veni Emmanuel with Martyn Brabbins and the BBC SSO

Thirty years ago Dame Evelyn Glennie premiered Sir James MacMillan’s Percussion Concerto, Veni, Veni, Emmanuel. Here, she returns to that work, praised for its ‘instant accessibility’ and ‘exuberant physicality’ (The Telegraph) for a special anniversary performance.