Steven Sharp Nelson (born July 5, 1977) is an American
cellist
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 ...
. He is best known as "The Cello Guy"
of the classical new-age musical group The Piano Guys
The Piano Guys is an American musical group consisting of pianist Jon Schmidt, cellist Steven Sharp Nelson, videographer Paul Anderson, and music producer Al van der Beek. Originating in Utah, they gained popularity through YouTube, where in ...
, with whom he has released eight number-one albums and dozens of music videos. He also has three solo albums to his credit. He is considered a pioneer in "cello-percussion", which enhances traditional cello playing with pizzicato
Pizzicato (, ; translated as 'pinched', and sometimes roughly as 'plucked') is a playing technique that involves plucking the strings of a string instrument. The exact technique varies somewhat depending on the type of instrument:
* On bowe ...
and percussive techniques.
Early life and education
Steven Sharp Nelson grew up in Salt Lake City
Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...
, Utah,[ the son of John C. Nelson and Lynne Sanders. His mother was a former professional opera singer, and she died from a brain tumor on May 21, 1999, ] and his younger sister, Camille Nelson, is a folk musician. When he was seven, Nelson's father decided that each of his children would learn to play an instrument invented before 1800.[ Nelson tried the ]violin
The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...
but discovered a passion for the 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 ...
.[ He studied cello with teacher Kate Reeves and then with Ryan Selberg, the principal cellist for the ]Utah Symphony
The Utah Symphony is an American orchestra based in Salt Lake City, Utah. The orchestra's principal venue is Abravanel Hall. In addition to its Salt Lake City subscription concerts, the orchestra travels around the Intermountain West serving ...
.[ Since his ]attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity, impulsivity, and emotional dysregulation that are excessive and pervasive, impairing in multiple con ...
(ADHD) inhibited his attention span for long practice sessions, he began practicing on other instruments as well, including drums, guitar, and piano.[ This led to his developing creative ways to play the cello: "strumming it, banging it and using pizzicato much more aggressively – using my thumb, fist, fingernail and palm".][ He also began playing with different types of musical groups, including bands, orchestras, and string quartets.][
Nelson earned his bachelor's degree in music from the ]University of Utah
The University of Utah (the U, U of U, or simply Utah) is a public university, public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. It was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret (Book of Mormon), Deseret by the General A ...
in 2002. In 2007[ he earned a master's degree in ]public administration
Public administration, or public policy and administration refers to "the management of public programs", or the "translation of politics into the reality that citizens see every day",Kettl, Donald and James Fessler. 2009. ''The Politics of the ...
, as well as a graduate certificate in urban planning
Urban planning (also called city planning in some contexts) is the process of developing and designing land use and the built environment, including air, water, and the infrastructure passing into and out of urban areas, such as transportatio ...
, from the same institution.
Career
Nelson initially pursued a career as a real estate developer, becoming the owner of Thornton Walker Real Estate.[ In his spare time, he played cello to accompany local musicians both on stage and in the studio. By 2006, he had played on more than 100 locally produced music CDs.][ Among his musician partners were several pianists and a guitarist. In 2006 he described his music as "an escape, rather than a vocation", and didn't expect music to become his primary career.][
In 1999 Nelson signed with Stone Angel Music, an ]independent record label
An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small and medium-sized enterprise, small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels ...
in Salt Lake City founded by Paul Cardall. His first solo album, ''Sacred Cello'' (2006), entered the Billboard charts
The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ' ...
top 20 classical recordings and garnered a Pearl Award for Best Instrumental Classical Album. His other two solo albums are ''Tender Mercies'' (2008) and ''Christmas Cello'' (2010).[
]
The Piano Guys
Nelson became a member of The Piano Guys in 2011.[ The group was the brainchild of Paul Anderson, owner of The Piano Guys piano store in ]St. George, Utah
St. George or Saint George is a city in and the county seat of Washington County, Utah, United States. Located in southwestern Utah on the Arizona border, it is the principal city of the St. George metropolitan statistical area (MSA). The cit ...
, who sought an innovative way to promote his store via social media
Social media are interactive technologies that facilitate the Content creation, creation, information exchange, sharing and news aggregator, aggregation of Content (media), content (such as ideas, interests, and other forms of expression) amongs ...
.[ In 2009 Anderson saw a YouTube music video that local musician Jon Schmidt had uploaded "for fun",][ featuring Schmidt on piano and Nelson on cello and ]kick drum
The bass drum is a large drum that produces a note of low definite or indefinite pitch. The instrument is typically cylindrical, with the drum's diameter usually greater than its depth, with a struck head at both ends of the cylinder. The hea ...
performing a mashup
Mashup may refer to:
* Mashup (culture), the rearrangement of spliced parts of musical pieces as part of a subculture
* Mashup (education), combining various forms of data and media by a teacher or student in an instructional setting
* Mashup (mus ...
called "Love Story Meets Viva la Vida", which combined the Taylor Swift
Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Known for her autobiographical songwriting, artistic versatility, and Cultural impact of Taylor Swift, cultural impact, Swift is one of the Best selling artists, w ...
country pop "Love Story
Love Story or A Love Story may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Genres
* Romance (love)
** Romance film
** Romance novel
Films
* ''Love Story'' (1925 film), German silent film
* ''Love Story'' (1942 film), Italian drama film
* ''Love ...
" with Coldplay
Coldplay are a British Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1997. They consist of vocalist and pianist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, drummer and percussionist Will Champion, and manager Phil Harvey (band m ...
's Baroque pop "Viva la Vida
(, ; ) is a song by British rock band Coldplay. It was written by all members of the band for their fourth album, ''Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends'' (2008). The lyrics contain historical and Christian references (King Louis XVI of ...
". The video garnered over one million hits. Anderson hired the duo to perform on videos that he would professionally film in unusual locations and upload to his store's YouTube channel.[ Nelson brought in his neighbor, Al van der Beek, a songwriter and music arranger who had a home recording studio, to the project.][ Tel Stewart assisted with video production.]
The Piano Guys gained their first widespread exposure with "Michael Meets Mozart" (2011), thanks to Schmidt's invitation to the nearly 30,000 people on his fan mailing list "to watch it and share it"; as a result, people began watching the videos beyond the region. The video featured Nelson playing 100 cello tracks to achieve the final effect.[ Nelson's video performances of "Cello Wars" (2011) and "Beethoven's 5 Secrets" (2012) debuted at number one on the YouTube charts.][
The Piano Guys signed with Sony Masterworks in 2012.][ At that point they all quit their regular jobs to pursue their musical career.][ The group has released eight number-one albums. As of February 2024 they have surpassed 2.3 billion views on their YouTube channel and have 7.09 million subscribers.] Their most popular video is a cover of Christina Perri's
A Thousand Years
'' with over 223 million views.
Musical style
Nelson performs a variety of musical styles, including classical, folk, new age, and inspirational.[ He is considered a pioneer in "cello-percussion", which enhances traditional cello playing with ]pizzicato
Pizzicato (, ; translated as 'pinched', and sometimes roughly as 'plucked') is a playing technique that involves plucking the strings of a string instrument. The exact technique varies somewhat depending on the type of instrument:
* On bowe ...
and percussive techniques. He owns 41 cellos, which he says produce different sounds and have different "personalities". He also plays kick drum
The bass drum is a large drum that produces a note of low definite or indefinite pitch. The instrument is typically cylindrical, with the drum's diameter usually greater than its depth, with a struck head at both ends of the cylinder. The hea ...
.[
He credits his influences as ]Yo-Yo Ma
Yo-Yo Ma (born October 7, 1955) is a French-born American Cello, cellist. Born to Chinese people, Chinese parents in Paris, he was regarded as a child prodigy there and began to study the cello with his father at age four. At the age of seven, ...
, Bobby McFerrin
Robert Keith McFerrin Jr. (born March 11, 1950) is an American singer, songwriter, and conductor (music), conductor. His Vocal pedagogy, vocal techniques include singing fluidly but with quick and considerable jumps in Pitch (music), pitch—fo ...
, and Victor Borge
Børge Rosenbaum (; 3 January 1909 – 23 December 2000), known professionally as Victor Borge ( ), was a Danish and American actor, comedian, and pianist who achieved great popularity in radio and television in both North America and Europe. Hi ...
.[
]
Personal life
Nelson is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...
.[ As part of his faith, Nelson served a ]mission
Mission (from Latin 'the act of sending out'), Missions or The Mission may refer to:
Geography Australia
*Mission River (Queensland)
Canada
*Mission, British Columbia, a district municipality
* Mission, Calgary, Alberta, a neighbourhood
* ...
to South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...
. He considers his art and his touring as a means to spread the gospel; he says that he also gives away a copy of the Book of Mormon
The Book of Mormon is a religious text of the Latter Day Saint movement, first published in 1830 by Joseph Smith as ''The Book of Mormon: An Account Written by the Hand of Mormon upon Plates Taken from the Plates of Nephi''.
The book is one of ...
to someone on nearly every tour.[ He and the other members of The Piano Guys, all LDS, pray together before each concert, recording session, and video shoot.]
Nelson and his wife, Julie, have four children and reside in Salt Lake City.[ In 2017, he performed a duet together with his daughter Lucy, who sang, in the One Voice Children's Choir's music video of "]Only Hope
"Only Hope" is a song by American rock band Switchfoot. It was written by Jon Foreman for their 1999 album ''New Way to Be Human''. The Contemporary Christian music, Christian-themed song is featured prominently in one of the scenes of the 2002 f ...
". In 2018 he performed with his wife, who played violin, in a cover of " Rewrite the Stars".
Discography

Solo albums
*''Sacred Cello'' (2006)
*''Tender Mercies'' (2008)
*''Christmas Cello'' (2010)
The Piano Guys
*'' Hits Volume 1'' (2011)
*''The Piano Guys
The Piano Guys is an American musical group consisting of pianist Jon Schmidt, cellist Steven Sharp Nelson, videographer Paul Anderson, and music producer Al van der Beek. Originating in Utah, they gained popularity through YouTube, where in ...
'' (2012)
*''The Piano Guys 2
''The Piano Guys 2'' is the third studio album by the American musical group The Piano Guys. It was released on May 7, 2013, by Portrait (a division of Sony Masterworks). The album made its chart début at number 38 on the US ''Billboard'' 200 ...
'' (2013)
*'' A Family Christmas'' (2013)
*'' Wonders'' (2014)
*''Live!'': Carnegie Hall Audio + Red Rocks Concert Video (2015)
*''Uncharted
''Uncharted'' is an action-adventure video game series and media franchise published by Sony Interactive Entertainment and developed by Naughty Dog. Created by Amy Hennig, the ''Uncharted'' franchise follows a group of treasure hunters who trav ...
'' (2016)
*'' Christmas Together'' (2017)
*''Limitless'' (2018)
References
External links
*
*
"Beethoven's 5 Secrets – One Republic – The Piano Guys” (2012 music video)
"The Cello Song – (Bach is back with 7 more cellos) – The Piano Guys" (2011 music video)
"Michael Meets Mozart – 1 Piano, 2 Guys, 100 Cello Tracks – The Piano Guys" (2011 music video)
"Cello Wars (Star Wars Parody) Lightsaber Duel – The Piano Guys" (2011 music video)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nelson, Steven Sharp
1977 births
Living people
American cellists
Latter Day Saints from Utah
Musicians from Salt Lake City
University of Utah alumni
American Mormon missionaries in South Korea
People with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder