Dame Evelyn Glennie delights in Scone setting

As fans soaked up the sun during day one of the Biggest Weekend, Scottish percussionist Dame Evelyn Glennie spoke to The Courier.

The Aberdeen-born 52-year-old has been profoundly deaf since the age of 12 and taught herself to hear using other parts of her body.

Over a career spanning 30 years and 90 awards, Dame Evelyn made history in 1992 when she played the first percussion concerto in the history of The Proms, an eight-week classical music series.

Despite her fame and success, she loves the relaxed atmosphere of performing outdoors.

She said: “Events like this are a different kind of operation and I love the atmosphere of it. “It’s really special to perform in this breath-taking setting, bringing different types of musicians together and having an audience there to appreciate it all.”

And Dame Evelyn wants to see more festivals dedicated to classical music.

“There is room for more of this type of event,” she said.

“We have Proms in the Park in the summer and Celtic Connections in the winter so to make things like this happen all throughout the year is really important. We need a bit of everything.” Dame Evelyn is starting to relax and has adopted a slower pace of life. “Now I don’t have to say yes to everything,” she said.