Evelyn+Glennie

It is said that “deafness is largely misunderstood by the public”. No one better represents this statement than Evelyn Glennie. Evelyn Glennie is a deaf percussionist that has truly made her mark on the world and society.

"Dame Evelyn Glennie". 1997-2011. //Drummerworld//. 28 Jan. 2011.

Early Life:

Evelyn Glennie has been profoundly deaf since the age of 12. Before going deaf, she made her start in a house full of music in Aberdeen, Scotland. Her first instruments were the mouth organ and the clarinet. Around the age of 12 she saw a friend playing percussion and then decided to start taking lessons. She thought from the start that percussion “felt right”.

Music Career:

﻿As a young woman, Evelyn was a member of the National Youth Orchestra of Scotland. Afterwards, she attended Ellon Academy and the Royal Academy of Music in London, but it wasn’t always easy for her. At first, when auditioning at the Royal Academy of Music, she was told that she could not audition due to her handicap, deafness. However, Evelyn convinced the judges to let her play. After they heard her play, and they saw what she could do even with a handicap, they were extremely impressed. They stated that from then on, they would never stop anybody with a type of handicap or disability from auditioning.

Gray, Channing. " Evelyn is on a solo beat". 11 Nov. 2007. //Projo//. Jan 28. 2011.

Interesting Facts:

Evelyn plays barefoot at both live performances and studio recordings, claiming that it’s better to “feel” the music. She has taught herself to hear music with parts of her body other than her ears. Evelyn Glennie owns over 1,800 different percussion instruments from around the world, and she is constantly adding to her collection.

Kaczmarczyk, Jeffrey. "Percussionist Evelyn Glennie will bring Highland bagpipes to Grand Rapids Symphony concert". 3 Jan. 2010. //M Live//. 28 Jan. 2011.

Evelyn Glennie with some of her many different percussion instruments.

"Evelyn Glennie". 2011. //Classical Archives//. 30 Jan. 2011.

Evelyn, being the first solo percussion artist, travels the world to study and learn about different styles of music, and to perform for captivated audiences.

"Dame Evelyn Glennie". 2011. //DJ-Records//. 28 Jan. 2011.

Evelyn Glennie has also appeared and performed on an episode of Sesame Street.

Wertico, Paul. "Tubz Review". 2011. //Paul Wertico//. 30 Jan. 2011.

She is known to create her own unique percussion instruments.

"RSNO Summer Pops - Dame Evelyn Glennie". 2011. //RSNO.// 28 Jan. 2011.

Evelyn Glennie Documentary Segment:

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