Top 30 Evelyn Glennie Quotes (2025 Update)

1. “Holidays are about experiences and people, and tuning into what you feel like doing at that moment. Enjoy not having to look at a watch.”

— Evelyn Glennie

2. “I’m not a deaf musician. I’m a musician who happens to be deaf.”

— Evelyn Glennie

3. “Hearing is a form of touch. You feel it through your body, and sometimes it almost hits your face.”

— Evelyn Glennie

4. “I try to plant myself where I am and embrace what is there in front of me.”

— Evelyn Glennie

5. “The human body and mind are tremendous forces that are continually amazing scientists and society. Therefore, we have no choice but to keep an open mind as to what the human being can achieve.”

— Evelyn Glennie

6. “Hearing is a form of touch. I could hear less through the ears but more through the body.”

— Evelyn Glennie

7. “Society cannot continue to disable themselves through their need to categorize people or make assumptions as to another individual’s abilities.”

— Evelyn Glennie

8. “Percussion is the most adaptable family of instruments. The biggest challenge is to project percussion in a lyrical way.”

— Evelyn Glennie

9. “The thing about playing percussion is that you can create all these emotions that can be sometimes beautiful, sometimes really ugly, or sometimes sweet, sometimes as big as King Kong and so on. And so there can be a real riot out there, or it can be so refined.”

— Evelyn Glennie

10. “And as I grew older, I then auditioned for the Royal Academy of Music in London, and they said, well, no, we won’t accept you, because we haven’t a clue – you know – of the future of a so-called ‘deaf’ musician. And I just couldn’t quite accept that.”

— Evelyn Glennie

11. “I suppose I don’t hear things, but I listen, if you know what I mean. And there is a big difference between hearing and listening. So it’s like a conversation, you know. When you speak to someone, it’s one on one, and that’s exactly how I play.”

— Evelyn Glennie

12. “Percussion is physical, as most instruments are. The body must function well in order to play the instruments well. Last year I climbed Mount Kilimanjaro.”

— Evelyn Glennie

13. “I like the sparkle of the vibraphone.”

— Evelyn Glennie

14. “My favorite instrument is the snare drum. In Scotland, the snare drum is very prominent in Highland bands. The Scottish style of playing is in my blood. It’s a very powerful instrument, but it can also be soothing, like velvet. It’s a real challenge for composers.”

— Evelyn Glennie

15. “A lot of things which come with a high profile will always be criticised one way or another.”

— Evelyn Glennie

16. “Music really is our daily medicine.”

— Evelyn Glennie

17. “I didn’t decide to become a musician until the age of 15, which is quite late.”

— Evelyn Glennie

18. “I associate going to an airport with work because I travel so much with my job. So when I have a few days free from work, I tend to stay at home.”

— Evelyn Glennie

19. “Apart from Scottish traditional music, I wasn’t really influenced by any kind of music. I just basically followed my own instincts.”

— Evelyn Glennie

20. “I am really quite fascinated by echo-locating bats and dolphins and have always wondered how sound affects the unconscious brain.”

— Evelyn Glennie

21. “Scotland has never ceased to amaze the world with its forward vision, bold action and great educational institutions. Nothing makes me more proud than to promote this wonderful land with all its richness and diversity wherever I go.”

— Evelyn Glennie

22. “There are many collaborations I’d like to explore. One is to co-write a rap concerto with Eminem.”

— Evelyn Glennie

23. “Once you’re in a particular country, and you’re surrounded by musicians who are so adept at traditional music, you suddenly realize how much there is to explore and digest and learn and experience.”

— Evelyn Glennie

24. “I’ve kept a diary since I was 11.”

— Evelyn Glennie

25. “I think I can only help to expose percussion to all sorts of people. The balance between the lighter and more serious side is important.”

— Evelyn Glennie

26. “I often play on the cello-bass side of the orchestra, because I prefer the deep sounds. I can’t hear the violins well.”

— Evelyn Glennie

27. “Before my teen years, I was losing my hearing pretty quickly, and I was getting very, very angry. I was beginning to become an angry person because of that.”

— Evelyn Glennie

28. “I love out-of-the-way, rugged places. For me, holidays are about the experiences, and the people, and the memories, rather than sitting on a nice beach getting tanned. I try to plant myself where I am and embrace what is there in front of me.”

— Evelyn Glennie

29. “A large part of my work has been collaborating with composers; I think we’ve commissioned about 140 pieces now, a lot of them percussion concertos.”

— Evelyn Glennie

30. “If we see someone in a wheelchair, we assume they cannot walk. It may be that they can walk three, four, five steps. That, to them, means they can walk.”

— Evelyn Glennie

31. “Concerts have to be seen as a real event for which the aim is to try and feed everybody.”

— Evelyn Glennie

32. “When I was 12, I happened to see a schoolmate playing percussion, and it looked interesting. I asked for lessons, and it felt right.”

— Evelyn Glennie

33. “I hope the seeds I have sown will be taken up by those who will follow me because the journey I have begun cannot be undertaken in isolation.”

— Evelyn Glennie

34. “I just assumed the world was full of solo percussionists. I couldn’t find sticks or music or anything where I was, but that was expected because there was nothing there anyway. And I think that was possibly the greatest asset for me, just not knowing.”

— Evelyn Glennie