Cello Fury

History

Nicole Myers, Simon Cummings and Ben Muñoz met as music students at Carnegie Mellon University and Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In 2004, the ensemble emerged with four cellists, known as Cellofourte. Three of the cellists, Myers, Cummings and Muñoz persevered with the ensemble. They established themselves as Cello Fury in October 2009, launching several successes, and added a rock drummer to the group.

Awards, titles and notable performances

Cello Fury achieved much success in numerous Battle of the Bands competitions. They participated in Emergenza Battle of the Bands and the John Lennon Educational Tour Bus Battle of the Bands. After winning five rounds of Emergenza, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette featured the group on their front page. A first place win in the John Lennon Educational Tour Bus Battle of the Bands landed Cello Fury a free music video filmed by the foundation. With these successes, several Pittsburgh-based media programs such as KDKA-TV's "Pittsburgh Today Live" and WQED (TV)'s Holiday Jam, as well as their radio stations, featured the ensemble. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Pittsburgh's "City Guide" and the Indie magazine, "Vents Magazine" featured Cello Fury on their front pages.

These titles brought Cello Fury much publicity and opportunity. In June 2008, Cello Fury appeared with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra POPS, conducted by Marvin Hamlisch. By December 2009, Cello Fury performed at the Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Baltimore Ravens' half time show at Heinz Field. Cello Fury performed three sold out shows at the Byham Theatre in Pittsburgh, PA on New Year's Eve 2012.

Although based in Pittsburgh, Cello Fury performs across the country in venues located throughout 23 states. They perform at several music and art festivals across America, such as Musikfest in Bethlehem, PA, the Three Rivers Arts Festival in Pittsburgh, PA, Paper City Music Festival in Chillicothe, OH and the New River Festival in West Virginia. Cello Fury also appeared at the South by Southwest (SXSW) music festival in March of 2013. In addition to traveling the country, Cello Fury traveled to Italy in 2010 to premiere Efrain Amaya's opera, "La Bisbetica Domata", as solo instrumentalists. Cello Fury also performs at colleges and universities throughout the mid-Atlantic states, including Dartmouth College, Penn State University, and Oberlin College. Cello Fury endorses Thomastik-Infeld Strings.

Besides performing, Cello Fury actively participates in outreach events and programs targeted toward young musicians. They are on the roster for the "Gateway to the Arts", a non-profit program that sponsors musicians to educate students in the arts. For example, in 2010, "Gateway to the Arts" organized a school performance featuring Cello Fury at Pittsburgh's Cornell Elementary. In addition, the band performs outreach concerts for "Class Acts Arts" in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C and for "Young Audiences of Rochester" in upstate New York. In addition to their contribution to "Gateway to the Arts", Cello Fury founded an annual strings rock camp and taught at "Summers Dreamers" camp held at numerous Pittsburgh public schools during the summer months.

Cello Fury's music has been commissioned and featured by several modern dance companies, including Texture Contemporary Ballet, Bodiography Contemporary Ballet and at the Hessisches Staatstheater in Wiesbaden, Germany.

Members

Discography

Videos