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