AOSA Advocates
AOSA ADVOCACY COUNCIL
AOSA Advocates are outstanding artists from various fields who were invited to join the Council because of their interest in quality arts education for children and their contact with a large audience. They acknowledge the unique value of Orff Schulwerk as a group pedagogy for music learning, and agree to support it publicly. Each new advocate is welcomed and introduced at a national conference.
Evelyn Glennie
Evelyn Glennie is a Scottish virtuoso percussionist, the first full-time solo percussionist in the 20th century Western music scene. Glennie tours extensively, spending up to four months each year in the USA. She performswith a wide variety of orchestras and contemporary musicians, giving over 100 concerts a year as well as master classes and "music in schools" performances. She frequently commissions percussion works from composers and performs them in her concert repertoire. She has collaborated with a variety of artists, including the Icelandic singer Bjork, former Genesis guitarist Steve Hackett, Bela Fleck, Bobby McFerrin, Fred Frith, and The King’s Singers. Glennie also plays the Great Highland Bagpipes. She has been profoundly deaf since age 12, which does not inhibit her ability to perform. She plays barefoot for both live performances and studio recordings to better "feel" the music. Glennie was a leader in a consortium of artists who successfully lobbied the UK government to supply more support for music education. (see www.evelyn.co.uk)
Glennie accepted her nomination to the Advocacy Council at the 2005 conference in San Jose through a specially prepared video addressing the audience and providing a brief performance.