Glennie Sure to Snare Fans in Lancaster

Glennie Sure to Snare Fans in Lancaster
by Greta Greene

Crashing. Striking. Beating — sounds violent. Should something be done? Yes! Be sure you put yourself within range of the dangerous percussion of Evelyn Glennie, the premiere percussion soloist alive today, a master in this art form rarely given soloist status.

Glennie will be appearing at the Barshinger Center in Lancaster on March 23. “This concert is in fact a recital with my pianist,” she told MODE. “The repertoire is varied and written by composers from the U.S., Japan, Scotland, New Zealand, and Iceland.”

Born in Scotland, Glennie studied piano and clarinet as a child before losing her hearing, being attracted to percussion as her hearing waned. Glennie so excelled that she was invited to tour with the National Youth Orchestra of Scotland and went on to receive one of the highest audition scores in the history of the Royal Academy of Music in London, where Nicholas Cole, principle percussionist with the London Philharmonic, was her instructor. Glennie later received the school’s most coveted honor, the Queen’s Commendation Prize. Glennie attributes her artistry not only to the “God given gifts” of musicality and perfect pitch (the latter an ability she lost along with her hearing), but also to her deafness from the age of eleven, precipitating an early choice of concentration.

Each performance is individual and varied, even when the same piece is performed.

Glennie performs in bare feet or stockings, absorbing the intensity and duration of the vibrations to differentiate notes. Her legs, lower body, arms and hands are the receivers, unhindered by the simple clothing she wears to perform. The movement and speed of this musical sprite to incorporate all the instruments in a performance is renowned, referred to as “musical theater” time and again.

Glennie has expanded the scope of solo percussion with a World Music approach (Gamelan orchestras in Indonesia, Samba bands in Brazil, Bagpipes in Scotland, Marinba in Japan). The prowess of indigenous musicians amazes even her, sometimes causing her to doubt if she will ever match them, but this is surely the mark of a true artist exploring each instrument to the furthest edge of the envelope.

The sheer number and variety of instruments Glennie uses in performance and recording is astonishing, including bongos, tam tams, congas, guiros, the Chinese gong … In Lancaster she’s planning to use instruments which “range from marimba, drumset, siren, snare drum, garbage cymbals, etc.” Glennie is also a master at creating on instruments not necessarily of musical origin. Imagine a waterphone played with a violin bow, car exhaust pipes, music boxes, children’s toys, steel drums …

The lengthy list of major orchestras and famous conductors with whom she’s performed commands attention, too. Concerts in Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Toronto, and all over Europe attest to Glennie’s success in bringing solo percussion the attention it deserves. Her interpretation of fellow Scot James McMillan’s “Veni, Veni, Emmanuel,” based on the well known Advent chant, has received raves, and the recording earned a Classical CD Award. The piece is her personal favorite.

Glennie has just released her new CD, Shadow Behind the Iron Sun, a venture in improvisation, contrasting with much of her previous work in classical, ethnic, and commissioned compositions. Glennie told MODE, “There were no rules when I made this apart from the fact that the music making had to be ‘on the spot’ improvisational. The producer, Michael Brauer, happened to be reading Eaters of the Dead by Michael Crichton and we discovered that the music related very well to the book. The inspiration was literally what I was thinking at the moment I was playing — that’s what improvising is all about, baring all at that moment.” Four days in the recording studio produced a work exploring the full range of color, sonorities, and dynamics.

Glennie’s March 23rd recital at Barshinger Hall on the Franklin and Marshall campus in Lancaster will begin at 8 p.m. For more information, call 399-7171 or check out her website at: www.evelyn.co.uk