User:Werner3840J/Cello Fury

Cello Fury is a chamber music group based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The group consists of Nicole Myers (cello), Simon Cummings (cello), Ben Muñoz (cello) and David Throckmorton (drums). The group fuses together progressive rock and classical music styles.



History
Nicole Myers, Simon Cummings and Ben Muñoz met as music students at Carnegie Mellon University and Duquesne University. The ensemble emerged in 2004 with four cellists known as Cellofourte. Myers, Cummings and Muñoz persevered in the music world, reeling out several successes. They won five rounds of the Emergenza Battle of the Bands, resulting in a front page feature in the newspaper, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Pittsburgh City Paper's, "City Guide" and the Indie magazine, "Vents Magazine" featured the group on their front pages, as well. In addition to their success in Emergenza, the group also won the John Lennon Educational Tour Bus Battle of the Bands, receiving a free music video shot by the foundation. These accomplishments brought much publicity to Cello Fury. 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. By June 2008, Cello Fury appeared with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra POPS, conducted by Marvin Hamlisch, and in December 2009, Cello Fury performed at the Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Baltimore Ravens' half time show at Heinz Field.

Although based in Pittsburgh, Cello Fury performs across the country in venues located throughout Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, West Virginia, Missouri and New Hampshire. . They perform in several music and art festivals across America, such as at the New River Festival in West Virginia. In addition to traveling the country, in 2010, Cello Fury traveled to Italy and premiered Efrain Amaya's opera, "La Bisbetica Domata".

Besides performing, Cello Fury actively serves in outreach events and programs that target 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, "Gateway to the Arts" organized a school performance featuring Cello Fury at Pittsburgh's Cornell Elementary in 2010. In addition to their contribution to "Gateway to the Arts, Cello Fury founded a strings rock camp and a "Summers Dreamers" camp within numerous Pittsburgh public schools held in the summer months.

Members

 * Simon Cummings (cello/composer)
 * Ben Muñoz (cello/composer)
 * Nicole Myers (cello)
 * David Throckmorton (drums)

Cummings composes a majority of the group's pieces. Although receiving his bachelors in performance, Cummings utilizes the skills he learned as a student at Carnegie Mellon University to write original pieces for the ensemble. Muñoz assists and collaborates with Cummings in the composition process. Myers received both her Master of Music and Bachelor of Fine Arts' degrees from Carnegie Mellon University. As a student, she served as principal cellist of the Carnegie Mellon Philharmonic for four years. Since graduating, Myers participated in several ensembles in the Pittsburgh area, such as the Edgewood Symphony Orchestra and the Pittsburgh's Opera Theatre. Myers also teaches Suzuki cello at the Pittsburgh Music Academy. Throckmorton performs with several ensembles and bands both in and outside of Pittsburgh.

Discography

 * Cello Fury (2011)
 * Cello Fury collaborated with Baroque flutist, Steven Schultz on composer and professor, Nancy Galbraith's album "Other Sun" (2011).

Videos

 * Against All Odds


 * Infinity Rises