Evelyn Glennie, deaf artist who drums with the best

Evelyn Glennie, deaf artist who drums with the best

JAKARTA (JP): Evelyn Glennie, percussionist supreme, will soon
be featured in concert at the Jakarta Hilton Convention Center
together with a gamelan ensemble.

Nothing extraordinary about that -- there have been countless
musicians schooled in western traditions who have successfully
come to Indonesia to work and perform together with local
artists.

Indonesia too has regularly sent gamelan ensembles abroad,
resulting in the development of local groups in such countries as
the U.S., Australia, Germany, the U.K., Japan, etc.

What makes the forthcoming Rhythms of Harmony (Saturday, June
18) so distinctive is that Evelyn Glennie is deaf, and has been
since the age of 12. But even this does not make her unique in
the world of music.

Rare, perhaps, but not unique.

Beethoven and Gabriel Faure were also deaf, but both were
composers and could "hear" in their mind how they intended their
works to sound. Both, however, became deaf at a much more
advanced age than Glennie, who began to lose her hearing at the
age of eight.

What is remarkable about Evelyn Glennie is her enormous talent
in a field that is completely dependent on a sense that she
lacks. That talent combined with a steely determination enabled
her to be accepted at no less than the august Royal Academy of
Music from which she graduated with honors.

Since then, she has performed in many countries and with major
orchestras throughout the world.

The loss of one sense often enhances one or all of the other
four, and in Evelyn Glennie's case, her sense of touch has been
sharpened; for if she cannot hear, how else can she perceive
sounds but through the vibrations produced by various musical
instruments?

By reading, and thereby "hearing" the music. But that applies
only to Western music.

Little or none of non-Western music -- one of Glennie's key
interests -- is found in written form. Her interest in this
genre, which will be featured in her Jakarta performances, has
led her to other styles including Brazilian and Japanese music.

Evelyn Glennie will perform at two concerts here. The one at
the Jakarta Hilton Convention Center will be a charity event with
proceeds going to the Indonesian Red Cross. On Sunday, June 19,
another concert will be held at Taman Mini Indonesia Indah, and
will be attended by President Soeharto and Mrs. Tien Soeharto.

--Gus Kairupan