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When I was 12, I happened to see a schoolmate playing percussion, and it looked interesting. I asked for lessons, and it felt right.

Evelyn Glennie

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Evelyn Glennie
Age: 59
Born: 1965
Born: July 19
Composer
Drummer
Marimba Player
Percussionist
Xylophonist
Aiberdeen
Dame Evelyn Glennie
Dame Evelyn Elizabeth Ann Glennie
Asked
Playing
Happened
Interesting
Felt
Schoolmates
Right
Percussion
Lessons
Looked

More quotes by Evelyn Glennie

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I suppose I don't hear things, but I listen, if you know what I mean. And there is a big difference between hearing and listening. So it's like a conversation, you know. When you speak to someone, it's one on one, and that's exactly how I play.
Evelyn Glennie
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Once you're in a particular country, and you're surrounded by musicians who are so adept at traditional music, you suddenly realize how much there is to explore and digest and learn and experience.
Evelyn Glennie
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Apart from Scottish traditional music, I wasn't really influenced by any kind of music. I just basically followed my own instincts.
Evelyn Glennie
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Hearing is a form of touch. I could hear less through the ears but more through the body.
Evelyn Glennie
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My favorite instrument is the snare drum. In Scotland, the snare drum is very prominent in Highland bands. The Scottish style of playing is in my blood. It's a very powerful instrument, but it can also be soothing, like velvet. It's a real challenge for composers.
Evelyn Glennie
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A large part of my work has been collaborating with composers I think we've commissioned about 140 pieces now, a lot of them percussion concertos.
Evelyn Glennie
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I associate going to an airport with work because I travel so much with my job. So when I have a few days free from work, I tend to stay at home.
Evelyn Glennie
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The human body and mind are tremendous forces that are continually amazing scientists and society. Therefore, we have no choice but to keep an open mind as to what the human being can achieve.
Evelyn Glennie
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The thing about playing percussion is that you can create all these emotions that can be sometimes beautiful, sometimes really ugly, or sometimes sweet, sometimes as big as King Kong and so on. And so there can be a real riot out there, or it can be so refined.
Evelyn Glennie
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I try to plant myself where I am and embrace what is there in front of me.
Evelyn Glennie
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I hope the seeds I have sown will be taken up by those who will follow me because the journey I have begun cannot be undertaken in isolation.
Evelyn Glennie
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I like the sparkle of the vibraphone.
Evelyn Glennie
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I often play on the cello-bass side of the orchestra, because I prefer the deep sounds. I can't hear the violins well.
Evelyn Glennie
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I'm not a deaf musician. I'm a musician who happens to be deaf.
Evelyn Glennie
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I love out-of-the-way, rugged places. For me, holidays are about the experiences, and the people, and the memories, rather than sitting on a nice beach getting tanned. I try to plant myself where I am and embrace what is there in front of me.
Evelyn Glennie
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There are many collaborations I'd like to explore. One is to co-write a rap concerto with Eminem.
Evelyn Glennie
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I think I can only help to expose percussion to all sorts of people. The balance between the lighter and more serious side is important.
Evelyn Glennie
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And as I grew older, I then auditioned for the Royal Academy of Music in London, and they said, well, no, we won't accept you, because we haven't a clue - you know - of the future of a so-called 'deaf' musician. And I just couldn't quite accept that.
Evelyn Glennie
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I walk into a kids' store, and it's amazing, the types of instruments - little squeaky things, rattling things, spinning tops.
Evelyn Glennie
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Percussion is the most adaptable family of instruments. The biggest challenge is to project percussion in a lyrical way.
Evelyn Glennie