- She was awarded the OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) in the 1993 Queen's New Years Honours List for her services to music.
- She is one of the world's top percussionists despite being profoundly deaf, which was caused by a neurological disorder.
- She was awarded Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 2007 Queen's New Years Honours List for her services to music.
- She received an honorary doctorate from Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, Scotland (2002).
- She was awarded the CH (Member of the Order of the Companion of Honour) in the 2017 Queen's New Years Honours List for her services to Music in Cambridgeshire, England.
- Ambassador of the Royal National Children's Foundation which helps support vulnerable, disadvantaged young people at state and independent boarding school through the United Kingdom.
- She has been the Patron of the London School of Samba since 1993.
- Inducted into the Percussive Arts Society Hall of Fame. (November 2008)
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