Three Phenomenal Female Instrumentalists

Three Phenomenal Female Instrumentalists

Written by Guest Blogger Nani C.

Music is a driving factor in how we identify ourselves as people.  Music defines our culture and community, and what we identify with can say a lot about who we are as people.  While big pop musicians like Britney Spears, Pink, or Katy Perry get a ton of attention, many listeners look for females that focus more on their adept understanding of instruments over their vocals and outrageous stage shows.

Dame Evelyn Glennie

Dame Evelyn Glennie is one of the most interesting and important female instrumentalists of our time.  As a jack of all trades as it were in music, she is able to play a wide variety of music. She performs with a number of orchestras and contemporary musicians and gives over 100 concerts per year, four months of which are spent in the US.  She also takes part in master classes and music in schools performances.  She is often seen playing percussion, though she is also well known for playing the Great Highland Bagpipes.  One of the more interesting things about Glennie is the fact that she has been profoundly deaf since the age of 12.  While musicians in the past have succeeded this way, how does she perform with an orchestra and stay in line with them?  She often plays barefoot and feels the music through her feet. She is an amazing instrumentalist that has had an amazing career.  If you ever get the chance, try to catch her live at some point.

Clora Bryant

Clora Bryant is a well-respected jazz “Trumpetiste” that does more than just play.  She is also known for her singing and lectures, but her start came from her jazz career behind the trumpet. She has had a long and beautiful career working with people like Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Billy Daniels and Billy Williams.  She was also the first American female jazz musician to play in the Soviet Union, at the request of Mikhail Gorbachev. 

Vanessa-Mae Vanakorn

For those that have a sweet spot for the stringed instruments, few women are as well respected as Vanessa-Mae Vanakorn currently.  She became famous in the UK in her childhood, appearing on televisions shows involving classical music and conservative style.  She made her professional debut at the age of 10 in 1998 at the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Fesitval in Germany followed by her concerto debut with the Philharmonia Orchestra in London the same year.  She is also the youngest soloist to record Beethoven and Tchaikovsky violin concertos.  As she aged and entered her later teens she started to break out of the classical style and changed to a more flashy, sexy style in music videos donning stylish outfits.  In 1995, she released a pop album called The Violin Player followed two years later by an appearance with Janet Jackson on the album The Velvet Rope playing solo in the title track.  While collaborations have brought her fame, she has also released albums of her own compositions such as the 1997 album China Girl: The Classical Album 2.

Nani C. is a writer for HowDoIBe.com.  If you are interested in a career as a musician, take a look at this site to help you learn what you need to do.