EVELYN Glennie's is an amazing story. Profoundly deaf since the age of 12, she has gone on to become one of the world's leading percussionists in a field where few had attempted to play solo before.

Not content to rest on her laurels, though, Evelyn is now seeking to pass on her skills to hundreds of Lancashire schoolchildren when she plays alongside them at Blue Peter's Make A Joyful Noise concert in Preston.

She said: "I thought it would be nice to take part in the project because it sounded really interesting.

"Music is like a form of medicine. We are not talking about shutting people up in a practice room for 10 hours a day.

"I really want young people to enjoy the exploration of music making and the ramifications of that."

Evelyn has become known for making music on everything from exhaust pipes to hospital beds.

In the concert at Preston, however, where she will be playing alongside several school choirs, the Lancashire Students' Symphony Orchestra and the Lancashire Students Percussion Ensemble, among others, instruments will be kept to a minimum.

"Maybe we'll have some congas and bongos, marimba and vibraphones, a bass drum, cow bells -- perhaps a Chinese gong," she said, thoughtfully.

As a deaf musician Evelyn experiences sound through vibrations, although not, she says, specific notes.

Born north of Aberdeen, she first picked up the drums at school and, although she played with ensembles and jazz groups, she was already experimenting with solo percussion.

At the age of 15 she discovered there were no other solo percussionists. She said: "I was amazed this was the case, but it became very clear this was something that had to be explored."

Explore it she did, winning a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music, where she gave the first solo percussion recital in the academy's history.

Since then the awards have come flooding in, including two Grammy awards for her work.

The Make A Joyful Noise concert will take place tomorrow night at Preston Guild Hall. For tickets call 01772 258858.