Sounds of Music

2. Today Evelyn Glennie is the only classical
percussionist in the world of Music who has
made a solo concert career of beating,
crashing and banging objects. She has been
awarded a long string of awards including a
1988 Grammy and 15 honorary doctorates
(and counting).
Glennie, born in 1965, was raised on a farm
near Aberdeen, Scotland, where she took
piano lessons and played the the harmonica
and the clarinet.

3. Evelyn Glennie, the Grammy-winning
percussionist, was born just as any other normal
child. Her loss of hearing was gradual.
When she was at school at the age of 8 , her mother
Isabel Glennie first noticed her about her difficulty in
hearing. Evelyn managed to hide her growing
deafness from friends & teachers for quite a while.
At the age of 11,the marks of her deafness
deteriorated, her headmistress requested her parents
to take her to a specialist. It was then discovered that
her hearing was badly damaged as a result of gradual
nerve damage.
The Specialist adviced that she should be fitted
with hearing aids & sent to a school for deaf. For
Evelyn everything suddenly looked black…
Evelyn determined to lead a normal life & pursue
her interest in Music.
Evelyn Glennie

4. All the teachers discouraged her except one i.e. Ron Forbes.
Ron Forbes was the percussion teacher at her school,who recognized her
potentials.
He drilled her by playing 2 large drums to different notes. He trained her not
to hear but feel the music
through various parts of our body.
This prove great for her. And the rest was her strong determination & Hard
work.
Evelyn Glennie never looked back then. At the age of 16, she toured U.K. with
a Youth Orchestra.
Ron Forbes (The Percussionist)

5. Evelyn, at the age of 16 only, auditioned for the Royal Academy of
Music, London & she scored the highest marks in the history of the
academy.
During the 3 years of the course she achieved the most of the top
Awards at the academy.
In 1991 she was presented with the Royal Philharmonic Society’s
prestigious Soloist of the Year Award.
She has been awarded a long string of awards including a 1988
Grammy and 15 honorary doctorates

6. Evelyn in the eyes of other
masters of Percussion like
James Blades. He says,
“God may have taken her
hearing but he has given
her back something
extraordinary. What we
hear, she feels — far more
deeply than any of us. That
is why she expresses music
so beautifully.”

7. Evelyn Glennie achieved more than most people
twice of her age. She has brought percussion to
the front of the orchestra, and demonstrated
that it can be very moving.
Evelyn has given inspiration to those who
are handicapped, people who look at her and
say, „If she can do it, I can.‟ And, not the
least, she has given great pleasure to
millions of the people.