Evelyn Glennie mp3

Dame Evelyn Elizabeth Ann Glennie, DBE (born July 19, 1965 in Aberdeen) is a Scottish virtuoso percussionist. She was the first full-time solo professional percussionist in 20th century western society.

Evelyn Glennie was brought up on a farm in Aberdeenshire near where she was born ( in 1965). Her father was an accordionist in a Scottish country dance band, and the strong, indigenous musical traditions of north-east Scotland were important in the development of the young musician, whose first instruments were the mouth organ and the clarinet. Other major influences were Glenn Gould and Jacqueline du Pré, as well as Trilok Gurtu. She studied at Ellon Academy and the Royal Academy of Music.

Glennie tours extensively in the northern hemisphere, spending up to four months each year in the United States, and performs with an extraordinarily 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. To date, these original works include 53 concertos, 56 recital pieces, 18 concert pieces and 2 works for percussion ensemble

In a live performance she can use up to approximately 60 instruments. She also plays the Great Highland Bagpipes and has her own registered tartan known as 'The Rhythms of Evelyn Glennie'.

Glennie has been profoundly deaf – meaning that she has some very limited hearing – since age 12. This does not inhibit her ability to perform at the international level. She is the patron of many charities supporting the deaf, young musicians, and people with a variety of disabilities including the ADAPT Trust and Aberdeen International Youth Festival. She regularly plays barefoot for both live performances and studio recordings, to better "feel" the music.

Evelyn Glennie contends that deafness is largely misunderstood by the public. She claims to have taught herself to hear with parts of her body other than her ears. In response to the misguided attention directed to her from the media, Glennie published her now famous Hearing Essay in which she personally discusses her condition.

She is also featured on Icelandic singer Björk's album Telegram, performing the duet "My Spine".

She has also collaborated with former Genesis guitarist Steve Hackett.

In 1994, Glennie married composer, sound engineer and tuba player Greg Malcangi, with whom she collaborated on several musical projects. They divorced in 2003 after a widely publicised affair with Leonard Slatkin.