Evelyn Glennie is a renowned percussionist who lost her hearing at age 11 but overcame the challenge through dedication and hard work. She learned to sense music through feeling vibrations in different parts of her body, guided by Ron Forbes. Evelyn went on to study at the Royal Academy of Music, where she scored the highest marks in history. Though initially discouraged for her deafness, Evelyn's perseverance enabled her to have a successful international career, inspiring others.

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DEBORAH COWLEY (Author)
Deborah (Mason) Cowley is a freelance
writer and broadcaster. She grew up in
Toronto, graduated from the University
of Western Ontario and moved to Ottawa
to work for the Unitarian Service
Committee.
As she travelled the world with her diplomat husband, she worked
as a reporter for CBC radio in Washington, D.C. and on a posting to
Cairo, she worked on several TV documentaries for CBC’s Man
Alive. https://deborahcowley.wordpress.com/
IX- English
Book- Beehive

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INTRODUCTION TO THE LESSON
This is a lesson, giving inspiration to those who are physically
challenged. In this lesson, the author has shown how physically
challenged persons are to face trouble and difficulties in their life.
Most of them make a compromise with their destiny. They accept
their ‘handicapped’ life and take to begging or some other lawless
activities but some persons being like this do not give to it. They
struggle hard. They fight it hard and rise themselves to a high position
in life. To them, handicapped life is not a curse but a boon. A small girl
of eleven Evelyn Glennie gets her hearing capacity totally killed. But
she does not give to it. She struggles with hard activities and learns
the music. She becomes the most sensational musical star in the
world. She becomes a figure of inspiration for disabled people.
SUMMARY
Evelyn Glennie is a multi-percussionist. She has attained mastery over
almost a thousand musical instruments despite being hearing–
impaired. She learnt to feel the music through the body instead of
hearing it through the ears.
When Evelyn was eleven years old, it was discovered that she had lost
her hearing power due to nerve damage. The specialist advised that
she wear hearing aids and be sent to a school for the deaf. On the
contrary, Evelyn was determined to lead a normal life and follow her
interest in music. Although she was discouraged by her teachers, her
potential was noticed by master percussionist, Ron Forbes. He guided
Evelyn to feel music some other way than to hear it through her ears.

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This worked well for Evelyn and she realized that she could sense
different sounds through different parts of her body.
Once she had overcome this hurdle, Evelyn began her career in music.
She got admission to the Royal Academy of Music, London and scored
the highest marks in the history of the academy. Evelyn says that hard
work and dedication towards her goal helped her achieve success.
Evelyn gives solo performances and even gives free concerts for
hospitals and schools. In the year 1991, she won the Royal
Philharmonic Society’s prestigious ‘Soloist of the Year’ Award. Evelyn’s
story is an inspiration for the differently-abled who are motivated to
fulfil their dreams as she did.
Read the following extracts and answer the questions that follow in
one or two lines each.
(I)
It was her first day at the prestigious Royal Academy of Music in
London and daunting enough for any teenager fresh from a Scottish
farm. But this aspiring musician faced a bigger challenge than most.
(a) Who is referred to as the ‘aspiring musician’?
Evelyn Glennie is referred to as the aspiring musician.
(b) What was likely to daunt teenager?
The first day in a great and renowned institute like The Royal Academy
of Music, London was likely to scare any teenager.

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(c) What do you understand by the expression: “fresh from a Scottish
farm”?
Fresh from a Scottish farm” implies that the girl belonged to the family
of farmers in Scotland and had not yet attained much experience or
exposure in the world.
(d)What bigger challenge did she have to face?
The ‘bigger challenge’ that she had to face was to rise in spite of her
total hearing impairment.
(II)
“They called her name and she didn’t move. I suddenly realised she
hadn’t heard.”
(a) Who is ‘she’ in these lines?
In these lines, ‘she’ refers to Evelyn Glennie when she was a young girl
of eight years.
(b) Who is the speaker in these lines?
The speaker in these lines is Evelyn’s mother, Isabel Glennie.
(c) Who were ‘they’? Why had they called her name and what
was her response?
‘They’ were the announcers. They had called Evelyn’s name to invite
her to the stage to give her performance on the piano. However,
Evelyn did not respond to their call because she didn’t hear it.

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(d) What did the speaker realize?
The speaker, Isabel Glennie, realized that Evelyn had a serious hearing
problem.
(III)
“I had learnt to open my mind and body to sounds and vibrations.”
The rest was sheer determination and hard work.
(a) Who is the speaker in the first line?
In the first line, the speaker is Evelyn Glennie, the famous multi-
percussionist.
(b) How was she able to hear sounds and vibrations?
She was able to hear sounds and vibrations by sensing them through
her body and her mind. Being deaf, she could not hear with her ears
so she had trained and sensitized her body and mind.
(c) What does ‘the rest’ stand for? How could she achieve it?
The rest’ stands for the greatest heights that Evelyn scaled in the
sphere of percussion music. Her firm determination and dedicated
work enabled her to achieve those heights.

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Textbook Questions
Answer these questions in a few words or a couple of sentences
each.
1. How old was Evelyn when she went to the Royal Academy of Music?
A. Evelyn was seventeen years old when she got admission to the
Royal Academy of Music, London. She was nervous as she boarded the
train from Scotland as she lived on farms in the countryside and was
not exposed to life in cities.
2. When was her deafness first noticed? When was it confirmed?
A. When Evelyn was eight years old, her mother, Isabelle Glennie
noticed that Evelyn did not respond to her name being called out at
the piano class. Evelyn’s loss of hearing was gradual and for some time
she was able to hide her disability from her teachers and friends. By
the time she turned eleven, her marks deteriorated, and her parents
took her to a doctor. Then, it was discovered that Evelyn was
profoundly deaf.
Answer each of these questions in a short paragraph (30–40 words).
1. Who helped her to continue with music? What did he do and say?
A. Evelyn was discouraged by her teachers but master – percussionist
Ron Forbes spotted her talent and potential. He guided Evelyn to feel
music some other way rather than hearing it. He got two large drums
and tuned them to different notes. When he played the drums, Evelyn
reacted to the distinct notes differently. She realized that she could

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feel the higher notes produced by one of the drums through the upper
part of her body, above the waist and the lower notes of the other
drum through the lower part of her body, below the waist. This
worked well for Evelyn and gradually, she found that she could sense
different sounds and vibrations through different parts of her body.
2. Name the various places and causes for which Evelyn performs.
A. Evelyn made her first tour at the age of sixteen when she performed
with a youth orchestra. She toured the United Kingdom and after that
tour, she decided that she would make a career in music. She has
made her name in the field of music. Evelyn is a popular musician with
a busy international schedule. Apart from the regular concerts, she
also does charity and performs for hospitals and prisons. Evelyn also
holds classes for young musicians.
Answer the question in two or three paragraphs (100–150 words).
1. How does Evelyn hear music?
A. Evelyn Glennie was passionate about music but unfortunately, she
lost her sense of hearing by the age of eleven. She wanted to learn to
play the xylophone but was discouraged by her teachers. They opined
that as she could not hear, she could not learn music. Master
percussionist Ron Forbes spotted Evelyn’s potential. He trained her by
tuning two large drums to different notes. Evelyn realized that she
could sense different sounds and vibrations through different parts of
her body. She could feel the higher notes produced by one of the
drums through the upper part of her body, above the waist and the

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lower notes of the other drum through the lower part of her body,
below the waist. This experiment worked well for Evelyn and she
responded to the finer sounds of music too.
Evelyn can feel music penetrate her body through various parts –
cheeks, hair, skin, etc. When she plays the xylophone, she feels the
sound move from the sticks into her fingertips. When the drums are
played, she can feel the echo of the drum beats through her body.
Evelyn removes her footwear as she performs on a wooden floor so
that she can feel the vibrations produced by different instruments
pass through her feet up to her legs. Thus, Evelyn has sensitized her
body to music.
Extra questions for practice
RECAPITULATION QUESTIONS
Q: 1 Who helped her to continue with music? What did he do and
say?
Answer: Ron Forbes helped her to continue with music. He spotted
her potential and said, “Don’t listen through your ears, try to sense it
some other way.” He began by tuning two large drums to different
notes.
Q:2 How old was Evelyn when she went to the Royal Academy of
Music?
Answer: Evelyn was sixteen years old when she went to the Royal
Academy of Music.

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Q:3 When was her deafness first noticed? When was it confirmed?
Answer: Her deafness was first noticed when she was just eight years
old. It was confirmed by the time she was eleven.
Q:4 Name the various places and causes for which Evelyn performs.
Answer: Apart from the regular concerts, Evelyn performs in prisons
and hospitals. She also takes classes for young musicians.
Q1. Which train was Evelyn waiting for on the underground train
platform? How did she feel when she sensed the train approaching?
Ans. On the underground train platform, Evelyn was waiting for a
train to London where she was to join the prestigious Royal Academy
for Music. As she sensed the train approaching, she felt both nervous
and excited.
Q2. What advice were the parents of Evelyn given once her deafness
was confirmed?
Ans. When the deafness of Evelyn was confirmed by a specialist,
Evelyn’s parents were advised to get hearing aids for their daughter.
They were also advised to send her to a special school where only deaf
children were taught.
Q3. “Everything suddenly looked black”. Why does Evelyn say so?
Ans. When Evelyn was advised to use hearing aids and join the school
for the deaf, she felt that her future was bleak and dark. She was
depressed, as all hope for great achievements seemed to have

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vanished. She had now become a disabled child who could not have
easy access to normal life.
Q4. How did Evelyn Glennie respond to the discovery of her
deafness?
Ans. On learning about her deafness due to gradual nerve damage,
Evelyn Glennie, instead of giving up, decided to lead a normal life like
other children, and pursue her dream of learning music.
Q5. How did Evelyn’s teachers respond when she expressed her
desire to play the xylophone?
Ans. Evelyn always loved music and despite her deafness, she
expressed a desire to play the xylophone when she saw another girl
playing it. But her teachers felt that she would not be able to play it
because of her impaired hearing and they discouraged her.
Q6. What reveals that Evelyn has succeeded immensely in her
career?
Ans. Evelyn’s success in her career is revealed by the fact that she has
command over about a thousand musical instruments. As a
percussionist, she is the most admired one at the international level.
Q7. What is Evelyn’s view of her achievements?
Ans. Evelyn is so modest that she does not consider her achievements
to be heroic deeds. She feels that if one has the clarity of the goat and
puts in hard work, one is sure to achieve the aim. She believes that it
is through hard work only that she has been able to achieve success.

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In 1991, the Royal Philharmonic Society conferred on her the most
prestigious “Soloist of the Year Award”.
Q8. What is Evelyn’s contribution to percussion?
Ans. Evelyn has contributed to percussion by securing for it a front
place in the orchestra. She has shown how the music of the percussion
instruments is deeply moving and touches the hearts and emotions of
people.
Additional Learning – Her Website: https://www.evelyn.co.uk/
This is an Introduction about her:
Dame Evelyn Glennie is the first person in history to successfully create and
sustain a full-time career as a solo percussionist, performing worldwide with the
greatest orchestras, conductors and artists. Evelyn paved the way for orchestras
globally to feature percussion concerti when she played the first percussion
concerto in the history of the Proms at the Royal Albert Hall in 1992. Evelyn has
commissioned over 200 new pieces for solo percussion from many of the world’s
most eminent composers to vastly expand the percussion repertoire. She
regularly provides masterclasses and consultations to inspire the next
generation of musicians. The film ‘Touch the Sound’ and her enlightening TED
speech remain key testimonies to her innovative approach to sound creation.
Leading 1000 drummers, Evelyn had the honour of a prominent role in the
Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games.

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Evelyn is currently creating The Evelyn Glennie Collection with a vision to open
a centre that embodies her mission to Teach the World to Listen. She aims to
‘improve communication and social cohesion by encouraging everyone to
discover new ways of listening as proven in her book ‘Listen World!’. We want
to inspire, to create, to engage and to empower.

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