Monday, November 5, 2007

Extreme Cello Playing


In this month of extreme blog posting and novel writing, I thought it would be nice to mention Extreme Cello Playing. I found this site while looking for cello photos on the Web, and there are lots of great photos of cellists on this site. Extreme cello playing is, essentially, playing the cello in extreme locations. Here is a quote from the site:
Extreme Cello Playing was born after three cellists from Sheffield [England] read about, and watched on television, the sport of "Extreme Ironing", in which contestants iron clothes in locations such as up mountains, up trees and under water. They are judged on both the extremity of the location and quality of the ironing.

... This gave them an idea: if a household task such as ironing can be performed in extreme locations with such panache, why not a creative activity like music making?

So, they play on the top of cathedrals, on playground equipment, and, most recently, at each of the streets included in the London version of Monopoly--all in one day. I'm not up for playing on cathedral rooftop myself, but I must admit I find this sport of extreme cello playing appealing. Two concerts and a nap might be my limit for one day though.


6 comments:

cellodonna said...

That's really cool. Much better than extreme ironing. Hmmmmm... makes me start thinking about what other places might be good for extreme cello playing. That's a good topic to discuss with DH on our next 2 mile walk (which we unfortunately had to forego today due to rain).

Maricello said...

Donna, sounds like a great idea. Maybe you and DH should haul your instruments along on your next nonrainy walk and perform duets on each street corner. And Web-cam it for us to watch. :-)

cellodonna said...

Sounds like a neat thing to do on April Fools Day!

Your Coach for the Journey, Tiffany Colter said...

Thanks for stopping over at my blog. I love that photo of extreme cello playing!

I can't play an instrument but I love listening to those who can. My gifting is writing...that's about it.

Melissa said...

Hmmm...never done anything like that. The best I can do is when the 70 piece orchestra played on a 30ft diameter gazebo. Not fun.

Maricello said...

Hi Tiffany, Thanks for stopping by. Writing is certainly a wonderful gift!

Melissa, I used to play flute in Town Band. They squeezed 120 of us onto a more-and-more-crowded small cement bandstand. I envied the clarinet players who held their instrument in front of them. The flute was awkward because you had to sit just right to share a stand and not poke anyone. It would be much harder to play cello in a crowded spot without hitting someone or being hit!