Shreya Jain, Subject Matter Expert at Edumarz
Evelyn Glennie listens to sound without hearing it is a story that is based on the life of a famous Scottish multi-percussionist– Evelyn Glennie and the struggles faced by her to become a successful musician. She attained mastery over a thousand musical instruments despite being suffering from hearing impairment. Although she was not deaf by birth, she lost her hearing ability by the time she turned eleven years old. Nevertheless, her disability didn’t stop her from pursuing music. She learned to feel the music through her body instead of hearing through the ears.
Evelyn learned about her disability at the age of eleven, and it was found that she lost her hearing ability due to nerve damage. The doctor advised her parents to wear hearing aids and be sent to a deaf school. On the other hand, Evelyn wanted to lead a normal life and follow her passion for music. Though she was discouraged by her teachers, her potential was noticed by percussionist- Ron Forbes. He encouraged her to sense music through her body, rather than her ears. This worked well for her and she realized that she could sense different sounds through her and she realized that she could sense different sounds through her different body parts. After that, she didn’t look back. Evelyn auditioned at the Royal Academy of Music and scored the highest marks in the history of the music academy. She received several awards for her remarkable performances on the global platforms. In 1991, The Royal Philharmonic Society honored her with the ‘ Soloist of the year award’.
Ann Richlin, Beethoven fund for deaf children stated that,
‘ Evelyn is a shining inspiration to the deaf children.’Thus, her story is an inspiration for the differently-abled who want to fulfill their dreams just like her.