Evelyn Glennie

Dame Evelyn Glennie is the first person in history to create and sustain a full-time career as a solo percussionist, performing worldwide with the greatest orchestras and artists. She grew up on a farm in the north-east of Scotland and was influenced by Scottish traditional music. Evelyn’s hearing declined from the age of 8 but she became a proficient pianist and later was introduced to percussion at the age of 12. She gained a place at The Royal Academy of Music in London at the age of 16 where she studied percussion and piano. She quickly realised there was a life for percussion outside the orchestra and became determined to define a new genre of solo percussion. Evelyn paved the way for orchestras globally to feature percussion concerti when she played the first percussion concerto in