"Touch the Sound" of YouTube

A few months ago I saw the excellent 2005 documentary, "Touch the Sound: A Sound Journey with Evelyn Glennie" on the Sundance Channel. Glennie is an internationally renowned percussionist from Scotland who lost most of her hearing by age 12.

I was recently reminded via an email of a YouTube broadcast of Glennie giving a talk and performance in Monterey, Calif., in 2003. In the 34-minute presentation called "How to listen to music with your whole body," Glennie says she wants to teach people to truly listen. She also discusses her struggle to get into the Royal Academy of Music in London, where the instructors said they saw no future for a deaf musician. But she convinced them and changed the culture of the Academy so that it no longer rejects students based on disability. You can see the broadcast here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IU3V6zNER4g.

I recommend the documentary, too, because her musical skill is a joy to watch and experience. It also helps anyone who sees it understand that sound is not just "heard" with the ears but experienced with the mind and body. You can see a news report about Glennie at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlOemXqTOW8. (This news report is a bit cheesy and sensationalized; the kind of "supercrip" story that I don't like to see, but it gives a bit of more background about Glennie.) But for the best Evelyn Glennie story, get "Touch the Sound"; it's out on DVD.

Evelyn Glennie became Dame Evelyn Glennie in 2007. Congrats!