The Evelyn Glennie Foundation

The Evelyn Glennie Foundation

At a glance

Causes

  • Education

Other details

Organisation type: 
Charity
Geographical remit: 
International

Objectives

The Evelyn Glennie Foundation is a charity imbued with the ethos and ambitions of its namesake.  A pioneering solo percussionist, sound creator and expert listener, Evelyn’s experiences as a profoundly deaf musician have reframed our understanding of what it means to truly listen. 

Our mission is to facilitate inclusion, transformation and empowerment through musical creativity, participation, collaboration, advocacy and research in both educational and community contexts. The promotion of active listening and the development of communication skills are our main objectives. 

Our vision is to teach the world to listen. 

The objects as written in our constitution are:

  1.  
    1. To advance the education of the general public, in particular by supporting the development and application of curricula and practices that enhance communication skills and cognitive development including through workshops and training sessions in active listening, through the use of music.
    2. To relieve the needs of people who face challenges in effective communication and participation in society as a result of disability or other physiological or psychological conditions, in particular by providing or supporting the provision of training in communication skills.

We are committed to contributing to a better society through connection, communication, creativity and inclusion. 

Activities

The Evelyn Glennie Foundation objective is to expand on Dame Evelyn's stated aim to 'Teach the World to Listen'.  As the world's first full time solo percussionist who happens to be profoundly deaf, Dame Evelyn has a unique take on listening.  She has demonstrated throughout her career that expert listeners hear the voices and views of others, promoting a more open minded and productive dialogue. The empathy this practice engenders has an enormous contribution to make in educational settings, corporate workforces and inclusive therapeutic practices.

We support and provide initiatives designed to enable everyone to become expert listeners, sound creators and innovators.  Our work challenges issues of social deafness by promoting better listening practices through unique cultural and artistic learning experiences.  Facilitating this work, The Evelyn Glennie Foundation benefits from the rich archival resources of The Evelyn Glennie Collection, a repository of instruments and documentation with the potential to inspire new modes of creative and pedagogical collaboration. 

Whilst initially Dame Evelyn will lead the work the charity does, we hope to recruit volunteers and professional partners who will facilitate sessions without her input.  Much of this work will be in partnership with established charities.  We have written confirmation from a wide range of such bodies who have worked with Evelyn previously and wish to work with The Foundation in the future.  These include Rett UK, EACH, The Elizabeth Foundation, The PTI, Pathway and Artis to name but a few. 

Our first Foundation event, a collaboration with Create Arts supporting young carers, took place in February, 2023 and received extremely positive feedback: the participants felt enjoyed the event, had learnt a lot and as a result believed they had learnt to listen better. 

Current opportunities

Cambridgeshire, PE29 6FY

The Evelyn Glennie Foundation seeks new Trustees to help us bring our unique mission to life - to teach the world to listen.