This past Friday at 6:00 in Kaeuper Hall the Musicology club on campus hosted a recital for The Portland Cello Project. This ensemble features five cellists and a drummer. These instrumentalists are only five out of a group of twenty-five that rotates performances depending on who is available to travel and perform at any given time.

The recital itself consisted of a variety of different pieces that were anywhere from popular hits to classical repertoire. They started out describing the tale of two brothers who immigrated to America and set the audience up for a very serious piece. A few seconds later however, they broke out in the Super Mario Brothers theme song. After this uplifting opener they transitioned to a more serious note with a Bach composition. For a completely different sound, they then switched to a jazz piece in 5. Since the cello is not usually thought of when it comes to jazz, this was very refreshing. They portrayed common jazz technique with improvisation, wide ranges, and a steady rhythmic line. Next they performed a piece in 7, only this time they had the audience participate as well. Everyone was clapping along enthusiastically to this short, syncopated tune. For a more familiar turn they played a smooth song by Kanye West. The recital went on for a while more playing many of their original compositions, along with familiar songs like “Rolling in the Deep” by Adele.

I was given the opportunity to speak with one of the musicians in the group after the recital. He said that this group came together as a spontaneous collaboration. They perform around the country in a variety of locations such as recital halls, symphony halls, and even bars. They arrange and write all of their own music and sometimes perform things that they have written mere hours before.

This group was brought to campus by the Musicology club. They meet every Monday at 8:00 PM at PMC in room 105. They get together to discuss any sort of music that people want to talk about and are there to educate people of musical styles that are not taught in the traditional classroom.