Fractured
Fractured: A MULTI-SENSORY Musical Experience Bridging Communities
Experience a groundbreaking new work by acclaimed composer Jill Jarman, featuring legendary percussionist Dame Evelyn Glennie and harp virtuoso Catrin Finch. Inspired by a world grappling with personal, societal, and environmental divisions, Fractured offers a resonant message of healing and reconnection. Each movement invites you to bring your own stories and experiences to the music, creating a powerful journey toward unity and hope.
Featuring ongoing research and a musical signer at every performance, Fractured reimagines our relationship with sound. Building on Glennie’s mission to “teach the world to listen” and Arts Trust’s dedication to reducing loneliness and isolation, Jarman’s pioneering ethos - drawn from her Resonance project - opens doors for hearing, hard of hearing, and D/deaf audiences alike. We are working on the development of a Music Sign Language, re-educating venues and audience of the benefits of this practice at all performances.
Commissioned by Arts Trust as part of Jarman’s Across the Divide series, Fractured brings together marginalised voices and illuminates issues of identity, culture, race, gender, and differing abilities. This powerful collaboration transcends boundaries, revealing what’s possible when we unite in creative harmony.
In partnership with Paul Whittaker and Angie Newman, Fractured is developing a groundbreaking Music Sign Language to be integrated into each performance. This innovation aims to benefit anyone - from those who have enjoyed music their entire lives but are now experiencing hearing loss to individuals who have never heard sound.
Produced and commissioned by Arts Trust, Fractured continues Jarman’s Across the Divide series. Launched during Glennie’s residency at King’s Cross with Echoes from the Birdcage and furthered by Across the Divide No. 1, performed by Chineke! Orchestra at the South Bank with Chi-chi Nwanoku and Evelyn Glennie, the series actively challenges inequality in the music industry. It foregrounds marginalised artists - including women, Black and ethnically diverse, LGBTQ+, and D/deaf musicians - paving the way for a more inclusive future in music.
Research and Development 2024
In 2024, in partnership with City Lit who has provided support for the D/deaf community since 1919, we conducted our research and development phase of the production, we wanted to test and understand how we can engage the deaf community in music - you can see the full film below. Please note this film is only an archive recording of our R&D sharing, the music was recorded on a single room microphone.
Achievements and Outcomes:
A key achievement was successfully engaging both hearing and D/deaf audiences in a more holistic and inclusive way. D/deaf audience members expressed feeling stimulated, noting how they could "feel and see" the energy of the performances. The hearing audience, which came from diverse musical backgrounds, responded well to the eclectic mix of contemporary classical music infused with world and jazz elements. Through the use of a music signer, the energy of the performers, and ongoing audience discussions, we made the new music more accessible, especially for first-time listeners.
We also successfully integrated the science of Cymatics into the performance, using visual representations of sound to enhance audience participation. This innovative approach was particularly impactful in helping D/deaf participants connect with the music. Students also benefited from this educational experience, composing music through methods previously unavailable to them.
Partnerships:
We collectively agreed that City Lit, with its deep connection to the D/deaf community and its status as the first education provider for this community, would be an excellent partner for this phase of the project. We are currently looking for new partners to co-commission the further development of our Music Sign Language.
Problems and Changes:
We made several adjustments during the project. The lighting setup was modified to better incorporate both the signers and the musical interpreter, addressing accessibility concerns. D/deaf audience members provided feedback on the positioning of the cellist during the research film, suggesting that more central placement would reduce visual overstimulation. We plan to make these adjustments in future performances to create a more visually cohesive experience
What Will Be Different:
Future performances will incorporate a number of changes based on audience feedback. D/deaf audience members will be situated closer to the stage or on the floor, ensuring they can benefit from greater visual and tactile feedback. The music signer will be more centrally positioned to improve visibility.
Longer-Term Impact:
The project has already led to greater access to musical works for both D/deaf and hearing audiences. Several venue promoters expressed interest in booking the production, recognising its potential to foster greater inclusion. We also developed a new connection with deaf musicians, who will collaborate with us to create Music Sign Language (MSL), further integrating D/deaf culture into our work. As an artist, this project has strengthened my understanding of the diverse needs of previously excluded audiences and has opened up new possibilities for creating accessible and engaging performances in the future.
TOURING DATES
International Touring
Autumn 2025
Spring 2026
UK National Touring
Spring 2026 - currently planning for an ACE Strategic Touring Grant
Summer 2026
Autumn 2026
Producer: Martin Collins
Email: Martin@artstrust.co.uk
Phone: 07941 660 192
PRESS KIT MARCH 2025
CREATIVES
Jill Jarman - Composer
A composer and jazz pianist, Jill Jarman's music reflects diverse genres, effortlessly merging the boundaries between classical and jazz. "...Art music with jazz waywardness" [Swedish dagbladet]. A fascination with music from different cultures blur these boundaries further, and can be heard in works such as Echoes from the birdcage, an ensemble piece with percussionist Evelyn Glennie showing aspects from the multicultural sound world of London's Kings Cross.
Dame Evelyn Glennie - Percussion
Dame Evelyn Glennie is the world’s premier solo percussionist. Her solo recordings exceed 40 CDs. A double GRAMMY award winner and BAFTA nominee, Evelyn composes for film, theatre and television. The Evelyn Glennie Podcast was launched in 2020. 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. Evelyn is Curator for The Evelyn Glennie Collection. Her iconic film Touch the Sound, TED Talk and charity The Evelyn Glennie Foundation embody her life-long mission to Teach the World to Listen.
Catrin Finch - Harpest
It pushes the boundaries,” says Catrin Finch. “It’s not really harp-based at all, so it’s a bit of a gamble.” She’s describing her lock-down collaboration with the Cardiff-based electronic musician and producer Lee House. “What I’m trying to do in this next phase of my career, is maybe move away from being solely a harpist.” A bit of a departure for some perhaps, but for Catrin Finch, known chiefly as the most gifted classical harp virtuoso of her generation, making an album with “an Ibiza chill-out kind of vibe” is more than a bit of a gamble. It’s another bold departure from the well-paved classical music highway, onto uncharted byways bound for terra incognita.
Angie Newman - Singer
Paul Whittaker - Singer
Paul is an inspirational speaker, musician, performer and workshop leader who is profoundly deaf. For 30 years he has been entertaining and educating people about music and deafness across the UK and beyond, at schools and colleges, conferences and theatres, courses and training events. Paul will give you a taste of music, signed song, laughter and deaf awareness in his own inimitable style. SiBSL (Songs in British Sign Language) is Paul's signed song website.