photo by TED
A world-class percussionist-composer-performer who lost almost all of her hearing by the age of 12, Evelyn Glennie reflects about what it means to listen — to a drum, to a marimba, to oneself, to spaces we inhabit, and to each other:
“…in the same way that I need time with this instrument, I need time with people in order to interpret them. Not just translate them, but interpret them.”
Her admission as a so-called “deaf musician” to the Royal Academy of Music in London “changed the whole role of the music institutions throughout the United Kingdom. Under no circumstances were they to refuse any application whatsoever on the basis of whether someone had no arms, no legs — they could still perhaps play a wind instrument if it was supported on a stand. No circumstances at all were used to refuse any entry… this in turn meant that there was an extremely interesting bunch of students who arrived in these various music institutions… many of them now in the professional orchestras throughout the world.”
…when we do listen to each other, it’s unbelievably important for us to really test our listening skills… to stop the judgement.
Listen to and/or watch her full TED talk:
…different sound colors… we’re just human beings, but we all have our own little sound colors, as it were, that make up these extraordinary personalities and characters and interests…
Curated by The Circle’s Creative Director & Editor, Lara Herscovitch (Cohort 10). To reach Lara directly: thecircle@clpnewhaven.org or Lara@LaraHerscovitch.com