Tag: Patrons

Dame Evelyn Glennie teaches the world to listen

Posted on October 27, 2021 by mike - Blogs

evelyn glennie on marimba - image credit James Wilson

Dame Evelyn Glennie has been a patron of Create since 2007. Performing worldwide with the greatest orchestras, conductors and artists, Dame Evelyn Glennie’s solo recordings, which now exceed 40 CDs, are as diverse as her career on-stage.

A double GRAMMY award winner and BAFTA nominee, Evelyn is a composer for film, television and music library companies. She was awarded an OBE in 1993 and has over 100 international awards to date, including the Polar Music Prize and the Companion of Honour.

How have your early experiences with sound or music shaped you as an artist?

evelyn glennie young on the farm — Evelyn Glennie on the family farm

I am a farmer’s daughter so when I was little my orchestra was the farm. I was hearing so many different types of sound on the farm: machinery, livestock, weather, my little green barrow with the squeaky wheel. I remember cycling around the farm with tins in my pockets and putting different things in the tins: different amounts of stones or different sizes of stones or pennies. I would go rattling around the farm scaring the animals.

I think those early experiences did form, perhaps without me knowing at the time, a kind of sound landscape that needed patience. I was in an environment where you can’t force anything and it’s very much dependent on natural circumstances. I think that patience really served me well as a musician and being open to those sound qualities has allowed me to experiment. As a percussion player, I’m dealing with so many different instruments. Valuing both expensive and inexpensive things has also shaped me. I can get a lot of enjoyment using found objects and allowing my imagination to run wild.

Asking people to think about their sound environment and how connected they are to that can actually play a part in what you create. I’m always thinking what my sound environment is.

“Listening, for me, is not connected with sound. Listening is paying attention to all the ingredients that are around you.”
Evelyn Glennie

Can you tell us a little bit about how you began to hear sounds through your body?

I think it’s different for every person. As a youngster, I was wearing hearing aids and still assumed that music or sound went through your ears. I was desperate to put my hearing aids up to have everything louder and that affected my sense of touch. I knew that I was a relatively sensitive musician but I found that my sensitivity was being thrown out the window because I was so desperate to hear it how I remembered.

This started to change when my percussion teacher struck a drum. He just stood still for a moment and then said, “my gosh the drum resonates! There’s the attack, then the journey of that sound and then it disappears”. He said, “well maybe our bodies also resonate” and he started striking a timpani [kettledrum] and asked me to place my hands on the wall of the music room. I could feel the resonance with a part of my hand. He then played a timpani of a different pitch and, low and behold, there’s just a subtle difference in how I felt the resonance. My teacher began making the intervals much closer until there were just tiny, tiny differences. I was learning the difference between hearing something and listening to something. I was listening to the impact and then giving myself time to digest the resonance.

It was as though the sun came up from the horizon. It lifted this frustration that was building in me. I had no idea I would ever become a professional musician in those days, but I knew that if I couldn’t find a way then music would simply just not be for me. So I was very grateful for that avenue and possibility.

evelyn glennie credit caroline purday — Evelyn Glennie – credit Caroline Purday

We love your Book ‘Listen World’. Who did you write it for and who do you want to read it?

The Listen World book is bringing together a lot of the writings, speeches and presentations I’ve done. It’s targeted towards teenagers because I think that’s an age when we can close ourselves off in many respects and yet we’re eager to look out and be open. There’s this tussle going on with our feelings when we’re teenagers. They need to be listened to. Even if there are very few words coming out of teenagers, ultimately they want to be listened to. That doesn’t mean you need to agree with everything they say but listening is at the crux of development. I felt the book might be useful to them.

What is the difference between listening and hearing?

Listening, for me, is not connected with sound. Listening is paying attention to all the ingredients that are around you: listening to the environment that you’re in and how it is connected to yourself and the people you’re with. Hearing is something that can be measured, but listening … someone can be as deaf as anything and they can be an excellent listener. I think that’s the main difference for me. Sometimes if I give a masterclass, you can have a youngster who picks sticks up and you can almost immediately sense what the sound will be by how the sticks have been picked up and what the posture of the body is. All of this plays a part in what you think the sound might be before anything is struck.

That’s why the work of Create is so incredible, because it’s bringing people together in their environment and listening to what they need and what’s inside them. That’s what I try to do as a performer.

“It was as though the sun came up from the horizon. It lifted this frustration that was building in me.”
Evelyn Glennie

What advice would you give to someone who might feel limited about their ability to participate and get involved in the world of creativity?

I don’t know what advice I would give but I do know that we can all feel limited. We can feel slightly doubtful of ourselves, even in musical situations. I’ve been in this industry for so many years but I have doubts sometimes. It’s just taking that first step. As a musician, if I’m contracted to learn a piece of music I begin by just looking at the first phrase or the first bar. Even if it takes half an hour, you can build from that first step. It’s the persistence and the realisation that you can handle it in bitesize bits.

Why do you think creativity is important in terms of wellbeing and self-expression?

Creativity is the connector between one person and another. If someone has been thwarted in their creativity, the ripples from that are enormous. It’s unforgivable really. I think we’re born as creative people, you just have to look at a tiny little baby and how they manipulate their bodies and how they become curious to everything and how everything is approachable. That’s what I want to keep as a musician: I can’t imagine being a musician and not being curious or experimenting. Creativity isn’t about right or wrong, it’s about finding out about yourself and your environment and other people. That’s why I love the name Create, it’s such a great name because it’s easy to say, it’s easy to read and it’s so relevant to all age groups and all demographics right across the world.

For many people, music is something you listen to in your free time. But as a professional musician what do you do to relax?

When I deal with music it’s as my profession so overload is something I try to avoid. In my spare time, I like to garden, go to antique fairs and get on my bike and go off exploring. I also like to metal detect. I found a little brass buckle once in a garden of a 250-year-old cottage. I’m trying to persuade my oldest brother to let me metal detect at his farm at the moment. I find lots of old bits. Bits of gates, horseshoes galore. Nails of all different sizes. I absolutely love that you can do it in all weathers. You can do it by yourself or with other people … it’s a bit like being a musician really.

You’ve been a Create Patron since 2007. What inspired you to be part of the Create journey?

I really resonate with the work that Create does. We all own creativity and we’re all creative. But what we don’t all have is the opportunity to express our creativity. That’s where Create comes in and that’s what inspired me to become a Patron.

Create connects with so many different people and I find that really interesting. You develop projects by listening to the people you’re connecting with. You really make sure you understand who you’re connecting with to get the best long-term results. I love the fact that Create plants a lot of seeds and I feel really privileged to be connected with the charity.

We all have one thing in common: we listen.

Evelyn interviewed Create CEO Nicky Goulder for the Evelyn Glennie Podcast. Listen here, or watch part of the interview here.

Create Patron Esther Freud visits writing workshop

Posted on October 12, 2021 by mike - Blogs, News

Earlier this month, our Patron, writer Esther Freud, joined me on a visit to our new creativity:revealed project at Michael Sobell Jewish Community Centre.

This is enabling vulnerable older people – including Holocaust survivors, people with Alzheimer’s and people with complex physical and mental disabilities – to develop new friendships, creative and social skills; and helping to reduce isolation. Here are Esther’s reflections:

“It must be eight years since I first became a Patron of Create – a charity dedicated to bringing creativity into the lives of vulnerable and disadvantaged people. I was drawn to it initially by its commitment to ensuring schools still made space for creativity even when the pressures of the increasingly academic time-table made this difficult, and as a non-academic child myself, whose educational experience was saved by the abundance of art and drama in my school, I was immediately enrolled. But in the intervening years Create has branched out into many new areas – supporting and inspiring marginalised people from all sections of society.

“It now runs hundreds of projects across the country, and one of these currently taking place is creativity:revealed – at the Michael Sobell Jewish Community Centre in North London. The workshops are for vulnerable older people, and revolve around photography, poetry, sculpture and dance. The day I attended, a group of about fifteen were signed up to work on poetry. Create’s professional writer, Joanna Ingham, had already inspired them to write a series of poems about food, and today’s subject was going to be music. It took a while for the residents to assemble – some with dementia, others suffering the effects of strokes, the majority in wheelchairs, several with carers in attendance, and while we were waiting for everyone to settle, Joanna explained to me the challenges of working with such vulnerable people. After all memories can be painful, none of us know what these people have lived through, so a broad theme such as music is ideal.

“Their first assignment was to make some notes on what music made them happy. ‘Straus,’ said a birdlike lady, ‘it makes me want to waltz.’ Another woman had recently lost her husband, and was having trouble sleeping. The last piece of music she heard before she went to bed spun round and round in her head, but once pressed she admitted to loving Light Operetta, music from the 50’s and 60’s, and folk. ‘If Elvis was alive today,’– the man on her left told us, ‘he’d be eighty!’ And in homage he chose Jailhouse Rock. There was Jazz, Jewish music, a big orchestra to change the mood.

“When all the memories had been assembled it was time to begin writing. Joanna nudged them gently to consider the use of repetition – a refrain, or echo, like a piece of music itself. Soon everyone was hard at work. As with any writing group, and I’ve lead a few, there is something intense and magical that happens to the air in the room when everyone is writing. In this instance there were whispers: ‘Raindrops and roses … what else are a few of my favourite things?’ and in some cases carers transcribing muttered words. But by the end of the session there was no one who hadn’t created something beautiful – a condensed and joyful memory, with its own title. By lunchtime the various members of the group were ready to depart, each one with a small jewel of a poem that they could take away with them. I can’t think of a more enriching way to spend a morning.”

During the workshop, Esther wrote and presented her own poem to the group, inspiring and uplifting us all:

Swelling

Lilting

Lulling

As I stand in the kitchen

My hands wet from washing up

My heart elsewhere

I imagine fields of violins

Swaying

Singing

Bending

As they rush into the next stanza.

Where is it now? That dark double cd?

Lost on the shelves

Lost from my ears

But I still hear it.

Esther Freud is also contributing an article on “Writing and its Power to Heal,” appearing in the Autumn 2015 issue of Jewish Quarterly.

Nicky Goulder, Founding Chief Executive

This article is from 2015.

Nicholas McCarthy visits our Mosimann’s project for young carers

Posted on September 23, 2021 by mike - Blogs, News

By Create Patron Nicholas McCarthy

For me the summer is never a time to lounge around and lap up the two weeks of sun that we get in Britain. It’s usually a time when I seem to spend most of the days in concert halls. This particular summer has been no exception to that rule and I found myself performing here there and everywhere as well as a spot of Friday night presenting on BBC4 for the BBC Proms. To say July and August have been busy is a bit of an understatement. So it was a delightful surprise during all the madness of my career when I was asked to become Patron of Create.

I like to do a lot of charity work and am Patron of quite a few, however I always like to be selective of which ones I want to work with. The charity needs to touch me in some way and this certainly was the case with Create.

What I love about the work Create does is the fact that it doesn’t focus on one ‘group’ of people. It manages to help a hugely diverse range of people who without it would be forgotten or over-looked. I naturally accepted this exciting invitation to become Patron and I was looking forward to discussing the ways in which I could really benefit the charity.

I was then invited to my first event as the charity’s new patron. A group of young carers from Kingston, Merton and Richmond were bought together for a week-long project at Mosimann’s Academy in Battersea. If you are unsure what Mosimann’s is then let me explain. Anton Mosimann is a Michelin star chef who was Maître Chef des Cuisines at the Dorchester Hotel for thirteen years during which time its restaurant achieved a rating of two Michelin stars.

After leaving the Dorchester, he created a private dining club called Mosimann’s, a cookery school, and other enterprises in the hospitality industry. He has also presented television programmes in the UK and Switzerland. On arrival to Mosimann’s Academy I was greeted by a group of young carers who seemed as though they had been working in the high-end hospitality industry for years.

One young man promptly asked if I would like a glass of Chablis, which I naturally accepted (he certainly didn’t need to twist my arm). Then another of the young team offered me a canapé that she had made herself. She even talked me through the ingredients and demonstrated her clear passion for food. Their week-long project was very much all their own doing. They worked alongside one of Mosimann’s chefs who also took them to Borough Market to find ingredients and help design a menu for the event. On two of the days the young carers even worked with Create’s acclaimed set and costume designer, Anett Black to design every aspect of the event. Placemats, menus, table cloths, centre pieces and even the choice of cutlery were very well thought out and put together beautifully and elegantly but with a youthful twist (tie dyed napkins).

Once we all sat down to our lunch, one of the budding chefs stood up and described the starter, which was cured salmon with flaked trout on a summer salad. She spoke with such eloquence and assurance you could have thought she was a part time Maître d’ of a Mayfair restaurant yet after the event she shared with me how nervous she was about getting up in front of people as she had never done it before. We certainly couldn’t tell.

The main was baked cod with sweet potato chips and a delicious salad, which was all expertly cooked. As I looked around the table there was not one plate with anything left on it. Always a good sign I believe. Then, for me the pièce de résistance was expertly explained by another of the young chefs, bread and butter pudding with fresh ice cream and a caramel basket.

Well, what can I say, it was absolutely superb but what astounded me more was the professional presentation. It was certainly a showstopper. Even Mark Mosimann (Anton Mosimann’s son) was impressed with the array of technique shown to pull off such a dessert. It certainly wasn’t like the stodgy bread and butter pudding I remember from school. I decided to hang around afterwards as I wanted to speak to some of the young carers who had obviously worked so hard to put this event on. Every single one of them said they enjoyed it so much, and a few of them even expressed their interest in furthering their cooking career.

Watch out Mr Mosimann, this group of young people are definitely a talented bunch.

This piece is from 2014.

Pianist Nicholas McCarthy becomes Create Patron

Posted on September 23, 2021 by mike - News

We are delighted to announce that award-winning concert pianist Nicholas McCarthy has become a patron of Create. Since graduating from the Royal College of Music, Nicholas has become a familiar name in classical music circles with appearances at the BBC Proms, on BBC Radio 4, Channel 4 and ITV.

Nicholas was born in 1989 without his right hand. He began to play piano aged 14 after seeing a friend play Beethoven’s Waldstein sonata. In 2012, his graduation from RCM made history as Nicholas became the only left-hand pianist to graduate from the institution in its 130-year history.

Create’s Co-founder & Chief Executive, Nicky Goulder said: “We’re delighted that Nicholas has accepted our invitation to become a Patron. Create provides creative workshops for children and adults with a range of abilities and Nicholas is such a positive role model. People with physical impairments are significantly less likely to take part in cultural activities despite the health benefits they bring. The arts can have a huge impact on wellbeing and feeling part of a community, which is especially important for those who are marginalised or excluded from other learning opportunities. We believe that with access to the arts, everyone can embrace their creativity and achieve great things.”

Nicholas commented: “I’m thrilled to have been asked to become a Patron of this award-winning charity, which has achieved so much in just 11 years. It will be an honour and a privilege to help the charity in its mission of impacting on the lives of people who are disadvantaged and vulnerable. I look forward to doing as much as I can to make a difference.”