99 Facts

99 Fun Facts about Evelyn

1. Evelyn was the first full time solo percussionist in the world.

2. Born: Aberdeen , Scotland .

3. School: Ellon Academy , Scotland .

4. Conservatoire: Royal Academy of Music , London . Graduated aged 19.

5. Major Musical influences: Jacqueline du Pré, Glenn Gould.

6. Evelyn performed on Sesame Street playing garbage cans with Oscar the Grouch.

7. Evelyn was the first classical musician to have her own website.

8. Evelyn has recorded 22 albums/cds. See merchandise section

9. Evelyn has performed in approximately 42 countries.

10. Evelyn spends up to four months of the year performing in the USA .

11 . Evelyn has won two Grammy Awards and received two further nominations.

12. Evelyn has written and performed music for television and film.

13. In a live performance Evelyn can use up to approximately 60 instruments.

14. Evelyn plays the Great Highland Bagpipes. She calls her set 'Ethel'.

15. At the Royal Academy of Music in London , Evelyn was principal study on piano and percussion.

16. Evelyn had two major television documentaries made about her whilst she was still a student. 'A Will to Win' by the BBC and 'Good Vibrations' by Yorkshire Television.

17 . In 1991 Evelyn's autobiography 'Good Vibrations' was published and then reprinted in 1995.

18. In 1993 'Good Vibrations' was published in Japanese.

19. Evelyn has contributed to various self help, business and educational books.

20. Evelyn endorses Rolex watches.

21. In 1997 Evelyn developed a range of cymbals with Sabian called 'Glennie's Garbage'.

22. Evelyn has her own registered tartan known as 'The Rhythms of Evelyn Glennie '.

23. Evelyn is the proud owner of a 30 piece Gamalan named 'Sekar Roh' (meaning 'Flower of the Spirit')

24. As of 2004, Evelyn will have performed at 13 Prom concerts - most notably was her Prom debut in 1989 - the first ever solo percussion Prom.

25. Evelyn has commissioned 133 pieces of music (as of 31/8/05 )

26. Evelyn opened the Crystal Palace Bowl in London .

27. Evelyn has had the honour of performing to Royalty and Presidents throughout the world.

28. Evelyn collects different modes of transport such as an electric scooter, unicycle, micro bike, etc

29. She is the co-writer of a series of school music books entitled 'Beat It' which are published by Faber. (Available to buy from the merchandise section.)

30 . As a child, Evelyn played the mouth organ and the clarinet.

31. Evelyn had her own series of concerts at London 's Wigmore Hall called 'Hit List'.

32. Evelyn has performed at the Carnival in Rio de Janeiro . (A video of this is availbale to buy in the merchandise section).

33. Evelyn has given televised masterclasses.

34. She has been Co-Director of two Percussion Festivals at the Kennedy Centre in Washington DC and at the Carnegie Hall in New York

35. Evelyn was Co-Artistic Director for the Commonwealth Games in Manchester in July 2002.

36. Evelyn has hosted two series of the BBC production 'Soundbites'.

37. Evelyn is also the proud owner of 'The Big Red Book', she has appeared on 'This is Your Life' with Michael Aspel.

38. Several music books have been reviewed by Evelyn and she has also written the forewords and prefaces for many others.

39. Evelyn reviewed and advised on 'An Equal Music' by Vikram Seth.

40. At the age of 5, Evelyn won a National Primary School Art competition.

41. When she was a teenager, Evelyn wanted to be a hairdresser.

42. Evelyn presented a travel log television programme of South Korea called 'Great Journeys'. A book of this is available from selected stores.

43. Evelyn has been the subject on 'The South Bank Show'.

44. In the USA she has appeared on ' Sesame Street ', '60 Minutes', 'The Jim Lehrer News Hour' and 'The Late Show with David Letterman' among many others.

45. A live play for children 'Playing from the Heart', based on Evelyn's early life, has toured the UK and Ireland and is currently being performed in Germany. The video is available to buy from the merchandise section.

46. Evelyn personally owns around 1800 instruments.

47. Most people travel with a suitcase, Evelyn often travels with approximately 2 tons of equipment.

48. A rare 60 inch Paiste tam tam, an antique glass 'glockenspiel' and a Cimbalom are some of the many instruments in Evelyn's collection. She also owns 6 Marimba.

49. Evelyn can often be seen playing tartan tom toms.

50. Various things have been named after Evelyn, these include a home for the elderly in Bournemouth , music rooms and dormitory at Meldrum Academy , performance halls, chairs and a bus in Peterborough !

51. Evelyn is an avid collector of jewellery from around the world and is developing her own line available exclusivly from, EG Jewellery.

52. Evelyn is a collector of collections including miniature percussion and pipe figures, bells, music boxes, masks and incense holders.

53. Evelyn premiered the first ever Percussion and Piano Double Concerto by John Psathas in July 2002.

54 . Evelyn is heavily involved with Music Therapy conferences.

55. Evelyn has made countless radio and television appearances as a presenter.

56. Evelyn launched Classic FM radio station by giving 4 recitals in 4 different cities in one day in the United Kingdom . She travelled by army helicopter between the cities.

57. Evelyn has designed her own range of sticks (Made by ProMark), practice pads and cymbals. (Made By Sabian)

58. Evelyn's music library has over 2740 pieces for percussion.

59. Evelyn can be seen narrating with orchestras in concerts.

60. In her spare time, Evelyn loves to draw, paint and enjoys exploring antique fairs and gardening.

61. Evelyn regularly contributes to "The Rainforest Foundation" International Appointment calendars.

62. Evelyn gives around 100 concerts per year.

63. Evelyn has a softspot for shortbread, Earl Grey tea and chocolate.

64. Speaking engagements became a major part of Evelyn's career when she formed 'EG 21st C Guidance' in 2005.

65. Evelyn was brought up on a farm in the Northeast of Scotland.

66. Evelyn is in the process of establishing a major Development Centre in the United Kingdom .

67. Evelyn gives workshops and lecture/demos for children and teaches a limited number of private pupils.

68. Evelyn started performing on piano in local old folks homes at the age of 10.

69. Evelyn has been to prison 9 times and got out each time - with her musical instruments!

70. Diversity of food is of interest to Evelyn and she wishes to develop a range of "Hard Classic Cafés" throughout the world.

71. Evelyn loves to travel on motorbikes and passed her full motorcycle test in Jan 2001. She is the proud owner of an MV Agusta F4 motorbike.

72. Evelyn launched Soundscape gardens for children.

73. Evelyn has performed on sculptured pieces at an International gathering of Blacksmiths.

74. Evelyn has had her nose pierced. Twice.

75. Evelyn makes instruments, many of which are featured on her CD "Shadow Behind the Iron Sun". See merchandise section.

76. Evelyn is spearheading a Consortium which aims to improve the level of music education in the United Kingdom .

77. Evelyn toured around the Summer Isles of Scotland on the yacht ' Valhalla ' for television.

78. Evelyn signs old drum heads, broken sticks, etc. and gives them to charitable organisations to help raise funds.

79. Evelyn speaks 'Doric' otherwise known as 'The Buchan Tongue'. This language is only spoken in the Northeast of Scotland.

80. Evelyn loves animals and she recently owned a British Blue cat called Teabag, regretably involved in an RTA.

81. Performance theatre interests Evelyn and she usually wears costumes related to the music she is playing.

82. Evelyn gave the first ever Percussion recital and Percussion concerto in the history of the Royal Academy of Music.

83 . Evelyn may be the first ever solo Percussionist to have been represented by a concert management organisation.

84. Evelyn receives fan mail from all five continents.

85. Evelyn received the highest mark in the United Kingdom when she took the Associated Board Grade 1 piano exam at age 8.

86. Evelyn commissions more new pieces, on average, than any other solo performer.

87. When performing a concert in Europe , each instrument is moved an average of 5 times but not once during the concert.

88. When performing a concert in the USA , each instrument is moved an average of 4 times, but not once during the concert.

89. It takes on average 4 hours to set up the instruments Evelyn plays in a recital and an average of 2 hours to strip them all down after the performance.

90. Evelyn has passed her Grade 1 with Distinction on Double Bass. It was in aid of EACH, East Anglian Children's Hospices and she raised £1500.

90. Evelyn has played a farm, literally, to create sounds for TV and film.

91. Evelyn carries out phone interviews with an interpreter.

92. Evelyn has over 70 assorted awards.

93. On tour, Evelyn spends most of her free time in book stores.

94. Her favourite TV soap operas are Eastenders and Coronation Street .

95. As a little girl, Evelyn participated in Scottish Country Dancing.

96. Evelyn was presented her graduate degree and Queen's Commendation Award for all round excellence by Princess Diana.

97. Evelyn has never had a solo percussion lesson in her life other than one month of marimba study in Japan in 1986.

98. Evelyn has a piece written for her called 'My Dream Kitchen' which involved her playing nothing but kitchen utensils.

99. As well as performances, Evelyn's diary is filled with meetings, speeches, award ceremonies, masterclasses, school visits and opening ceromonies for anything from music buildings to inaurgurating a musical garden fence.

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