Evelyn Glennie : a Biography

By : Anvesha Sharma

A Scottish girl who loved to play music, never answered back when her mother called her name. 8 year old Evelyn Glennie started loosing her ability to hear, and by the age of 11, she was completely deaf. She used to get devastating result in school. but her interest in music never drowned.

People made fun of her when she asked about xylophone. One day, her teacher observed her interest and asked her to feel the music. “The thing that you call music, is sound for me” she said during a workshop. She tries her best to feel the music. She does this this activity barefoot so that she can feel it more properly.

She toured U.K. with a youth orchestra and by the time she was 16, she had decided to make music her life. She auditioned for Royal Academy of Music in London and scored one of the highest marks in the history of academy. She gradually moved from orchestral work to solo performances. At the end of 3 years course, she had achieved most of the top awards. “My speech is clear because I could hear till I was 11.” But that doesn’t explain how she manages to learn French and master basics of Japanese.

Today Evelyn is a true inspiration for many deaf children. She also organizes workshops about “how to truly listen.” She also performs in hospitals and prisons. “To hear a band, I usually keep my hands on the wall, barefoot of course” she said in her workshop. Evelyn has motivated many people. “If she can do it, why cant we.”