Extreme Cello is an

extreme sport Action sports, adventure sports or extreme sports are physical activity, activities perceived as involving a high degree of risk of injury or death. These activities often involve speed, height, a high level of physical exertion and highly speci ...

and a

performance art Performance art is an artwork or art exhibition created through actions executed by the artist or other participants. It may be witnessed live or through documentation, spontaneously developed or written, and is traditionally presented to a pu ...

in which people take a

cello The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), tuned i ...

to an unusual, often outdoor, location and perform music. It is synonymous with the cello trio known as the Extreme Cellists, an amateur group inspired by the sport of

Extreme Ironing Extreme Ironing (also called EI) is an extreme sport in which people take ironing boards to remote locations and iron items of clothing. According to the Extreme Ironing Bureau, extreme ironing is "the latest dangerous sport that combines the th ...

. Their performances are generally given to raise money for various charities. Since 2006 the Extreme Cellists have had a particular association with the spinal injuries charity Aspire. According to their official website, Extreme Cello aims to "take musical performances to new heights, and depths, by giving performances in many extreme locations."

History

The formation of the Extreme Cellists in 2003 to raise money for the music fund of Westways Primary School,

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...

, is believed to have been the first organised Extreme Cello event. Before this, a number of individual cellists are known to have performed in unusual locations but did not use the phrase "Extreme Celling" to describe their activities. Since then the Extreme Cellists have undertaken a range of challenges, most notably a tour of 42 English cathedral rooftops in 2006. In July 2008 they successfully completed the Four Peaks Challenge, playing at the summits of the tallest mountains in Scotland, England, Wales and Ireland. In 2010, they hiked Wainwright's famous

Coast to Coast Walk The Coast to Coast Walk is a long-distance footpath between the west and east coasts of Northern England, nominally long. Devised by Alfred Wainwright, it passes through three contrasting national parks: the Lake District National Park, ...

across northern England, playing as they went. In April 2012, the three Extreme Cellists ran the London Marathon with cellos on their backs, playing occasionally along the way. In 2016 they performed on all 58 surviving seaside piers in Great Britain in just 14 days.

Members

*Jeremy Dawson, lecturer *Clare Wallace, teacher *James Rees, teacher

Musical style

The group's repertoire is varied. They perform arrangements of classical pieces such as

Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (German: �joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety of instruments and forms, including the or ...

's '' Wachet Auf'',

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

's ''

Eine Kleine Nachtmusik (Serenade No. 13 for strings in G major), K. 525, is a 1787 composition for a chamber ensemble by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791). The German title means "a little night music" and is one of Mozart's most famous works. The serena ...

'' and the Adagio cantabile from

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...

's trio for 3 cellos. They also perform more popular pieces such as " Up on the Roof", originally sung by

The Drifters The Drifters are an American pop and R&B/soul vocal group. They were originally formed as a backing group for Clyde McPhatter, formerly the lead tenor of Billy Ward and his Dominoes in 1953. The second group of Drifters, formed in 1959 and ...

, "

Climb Every Mountain "Climb Ev'ry Mountain" is a show tune from the 1959 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical ''The Sound of Music.'' It is sung at the close of the first act and is sung again in the epilogue of the second act by the Mother Abbess. It is themed as an insp ...

" from ''

The Sound of Music ''The Sound of Music'' is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the 1949 memoir of Maria von Trapp, '' The Story of the Trapp Family Singers''. ...

'' (

Rodgers and Hammerstein Rodgers and Hammerstein was a theater-writing team of composer Richard Rodgers (1902–1979) and lyricist-dramatist Oscar Hammerstein II (1895–1960), who together created a series of innovative and influential American musicals. Their musical ...

), "

Hi Ho Silver Lining "Hi Ho Silver Lining" is a rock song, written by American songwriters Scott English and Larry Weiss and first released as a single in March 1967 by English band the Attack, then a few days later by Jeff Beck. The Attack's version failed to ...

", originally sung by

Jeff Beck Geoffrey Arnold Beck (24 June 1944 – 10 January 2023) was an English musician. He rose to prominence as the guitarist of the rock band the Yardbirds, and afterwards founded and fronted the Jeff Beck Group and Beck, Bogert & Appice. In 1975, ...

; "

I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles "I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles" is a popular American song written in 1918, released in late 1919, becoming a number one hit for Ben Selvin's Novelty Orchestra. It has been revived and adapted over the years, serving as the anthem of Premier Lea ...

"; and "

Hey Jude "Hey Jude" is a song by the English rock music, rock band the Beatles that was released as a non-album single in August 1968. It was written by Paul McCartney and credited to the Lennon–McCartney partnership. The single was the Beatles' fir ...

" ( Lennon & McCartney). Many of the pieces were arranged for cello trio performance by group member Jeremy Dawson.

Performances

Discography

To date the Extreme Cellists have not released any recordings of their performances although some videos are available on various social media.{{cite web, last=Dawson, first=J F, title=Extreme Cellists on Ben Nevis, website=

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

, url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1B9G-bzong, accessdate=2 June 2011

References

External links

* http://www.extremecello.com - the official site of the Extreme Cellists * https://www.facebook.com/extremecello/ - the group's Facebook page (their predecessor Facebook group was entitled 'We Believe Cellos Should be Played In Weird Locations') * https://twitter.com/ExtremeCello - the group often use to Twitter to keep fans updated on places and times of pop gigs when on tour or to post photos * http://www.aspire.org.uk/default.aspx - the site of one of the charities most frequently supported by the group (Aspire) * https://www.chicks.org.uk - another charity regularly supported by the group (Chicks) * http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/7525725.stm - BBC News item 'New high for Extreme Cellists' - video British instrumental musical groups