Evelyn Glennie Shows How to Listen

Jun 7, 2010

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"How on earth can they experience music, they are deaf. We [cover our ears], and we imagine that is what deafness is about. We [cover our eyes], we imagine that is what blindness is about. If we see someone in a wheel chair, we assume they can not walk."

Evelyn Glennie, percussionist and composer

This video presentation from the 2003 TED conference features Scottish percussionist and composer Evelyn Glennie, who lost nearly all her hearing when she was 12 years old. She talks about:
* The reactions music teachers had when she informed them she wanted to start studying music after her hearing loss
* The different way musical institutions in the UK review talented disabled musician applicants since her acceptance into the Royal Academy of Music
* The assumptions made about how differently-abled audiences experience performances

* The value of listening to ourself and others

* and much more!

Tags: listening, deafness, blindness, percussion, wheel chair

Sub Categories

DIVERSITY: Diversity and the Arts
DIVERSITY: Artistic
DIVERSITY: Disabled Community
DIVERSITY: Audience Development

1 Comments

Chi-wang » Jun 8, 2010 6:27pm
Be sure to check out the excellent documentary on her life and music, "Touch the Sound." Directed by the same filmmaker who made the equally excellent "Rivers and Tides" about time-based nature sculptor, Andy Goldsworthy.