In Their Own Words: Evelyn Glennie

"Early on I decided not to allow the opinions of others to stop me from pursuing my passion to become a musician. I grew up on a farm in northeast Scotland and began taking piano lessons when I was eight. The older I got, the more my passion for music grew.  But I also began to gradually lose my hearing. Doctors concluded that  irreversible nerve damage was the cause and by age twelve, I was profoundly deaf. But my love for music never left me.

"My goal was to become a percussion soloist, even though there were none at that time. To perform, I learned to 'hear' music differently from others. I play in my stocking feet and can tell the pitch of a note by the vibrations I feel through my body and through my imagination. My entire sound world exists by utilizing almost every sense that I have.

"I was determined to be assessed as a musician, not as a deaf musician, and I applied to the prestigious Royal Academy of Music in London. No other deaf student had done this before and some teachers opposed my admission. Based on my performance, I was finally admitted and went on to graduate with the academy's highest honors.

"After that, I established myself as essentially the first full-time solo percussionist. I wrote and arranged numerous musical compositions since few had been written expressly for solo percussionists.

"I have been a soloist for over ten years because I decided early on that just because my doctor made a diagnosis that I was profoundly deaf, it didn't mean that my passion couldn't be actualized. I would encourage people to not allow themselves to be defined or limited by others. Follow your passion; follow your heart. They will lead you to the place you want to go."

Evelyn Glennie is renowned as the first lady of solo percussion. She performs 120 concerts each year and has recorded nine albums.

The above is excerpted from, UNSTOPPABLE: 45 Powerful Stories of Perseverance and Triumph from People Just Like You. Click here for more information or to order this best-selling book.

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