Evelyn Glennie

Evelyn Glennie, born in 1965 in Aberdeen, Scotland, is a virtuoso percussionist. She is the first person in musical history to successfully create and sustain a full-time career as a percussion solo performer. As one of the most eclectic and innovative musicians on the scene today she is constantly redefining the goals and expectations of percussion, and creating performances of such vitality that they almost constitute a new type of performance. Evelyn gives more than 100 performances a year worldwide, performing with the greatest conductors, orchestras, and artists. For the first ten years of her career virtually every performance she gave was in some way a first. Her diversity of collaborations have included performances artists such as Nana Vasoncelos, Kodo, Bela Fleck, Bjork, Bobby McFerrin, Sting, Kings Singers, Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Fred Frith. Evelyn has commissioned one hundred and thirty three new works for solo percussion from many of the world's most eminent composers and also composes and records music for film and television (EG Composer). Her first high quality drama produced a score so original she was nominated for a British Academy of Film and Television Arts awards (BAFTA's); the UK equivalent of the Oscars. Out of the 22 recordings made so far, Evelyn's first CD, Bartok's Sonata for two Pianos and Percussion won her a Grammy in 1988. A further two Grammy nominations followed, one of which she won for a collaboration with Bela Fleck. Evelyn's twelfth solo CD, Shadow Behind the Iron Sun (BMG Records) was based on a radical improvisational concept and has once again questioned people's expectations. The Evelyn Glennie brand is constantly exploring other areas of creativity. From writing a best selling autobiography, Good Vibrations, to presenting two series of her own television programmes for the BBC, to regularly appearing on television across the world, which include The David Letterman Show (USA), Sesame Street (USA), The South Bank Show (UK), presenting and performing on Songs of Praise (UK), Commonwealth Games Festival Concert, This is Your Life (UK), 60 minutes(USA), PBS Profile (USA), and many more. The renowned film director Thomas Riedelsheimer made a documentary about Evelyn Glennie called Touch the Sound, portraying her life, her career and trying to give an insight into her world of sound as she is able to perceive it with her profound deafness (eg. through sense of touch). The movie is framed by an improvised recording session with Fred Frith in an old factory in Cologne among other performances with musicians around the world. Evelyn's activities also include lobbying the Government on political issues as diverse as music education and parking rights for motorbikes (she is a keen biker). Other aspects include EG Images which supplies photographs from a vast image library of Evelyn, EG Jewellery which is a range of Jewellery designed and made by EG based on her influences as a solo percussionist, EG Merchandise, and EG 21st Guidance which displays Evelyn as an international motivational speaker to many diverse corporate companies and events. Evelyn also performs with Orchestras on the Great Highland Bagpipes. After 20 years in the music business she has begun teaching privately which allows her to explore the art of teaching and to explore the world of sound therapy as a means of communication. In 1993 Evelyn was awarded the OBE (Officer of the British Empire) for her services to music, and to date has received no less than 70 international awards. At the New Year Honours 2007, in December 2006, she was promoted to DBE. Please visit Evelyn's website at www.evelyn.co.uk