Extreme Cello is an extreme sport

Extreme sport

An extreme sport is a popular term for certain activities perceived as having a high level of inherent danger...

 and a performance art

Performance art

In art, performance art is a performance presented to an audience, traditionally interdisciplinary. Performance may be either scripted or unscripted, random or carefully orchestrated; spontaneous or otherwise carefully planned with or without audience participation. The performance can be live or...

 in which people take a cello to an unusual, often outdoor, location and perform music. It is synonymous with the cello trio known as the 'Extreme Cellists'. They are an amateur group inspired by the sport of Extreme Ironing

Extreme ironing

Extreme Ironing is an extreme sport and a performance art in which people take an ironing board to a remote location and iron items of clothing...

. Their performances are generally given to raise money for various charities. Since 2006 the Extreme Cellists have had a particular association with the spinal injuries charity 'Aspire'.
According to their official website, Extreme Cello aims to "take musical performances to new heights, and depths, by giving performances in many extreme locations."

History

The formation of the Extreme Cellists in 2003 to raise money for the Westways Primary School, Sheffield music fund is believed to have been the first organised Extreme Cello event. Prior to this a number of individual cellists are known to have performed in unusual locations but did not use the phrase 'Extreme Celling' to describe their activities.

Since then the Extreme Cellists have undertaken a range of challenges, most notably a tour of 42 English Cathedral rooftops in 2006. In July 2008 they successfully completed the Four Peaks Challenge, playing at the summits of the tallest mountains in Scotland, England, Wales and Ireland. In 2010, they hiked Wainwright's famous Coast to Coast Walk

Coast to Coast Walk

The Coast to Coast Walk is a 192-mile unofficial and mostly unsignposted long distance footpath in Northern England...

 across northern England, playing as they went.

Musical style

The group's repertoire is varied. They perform arrangements of classical pieces such as Bach's "Wachet Auf", Mozart's Eine Kleine Nachtmusik and the "Adagio Cantabile" from Beethoven's trio for 3 cellos. They also perform more popular pieces such as Up on the Roof, originally sung by The Drifters; "Climb Every Mountain" from The Sound of Music (Rogers & Hammerstein); "Hi Ho Silver Lining", originally sung by Jeff Beck; and "I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles"; and "Hey Jude" (Lennon & McCartney). Many of the pieces were arranged for cello trio performance by group member Jeremy Dawson.

Performances

Date	Performance title	Performance locations
24 May 2003	The Original Extreme Cello Day	Mam Tor, Derbyshire; Blue John Cavern, Derbyshire; Sheffield University Arts Tower; Grindleford Station, Derbyshire; Padley Gorge, Derbyshire; Winter Garden, Sheffield
18 June 2005	The Extreme Cello Walk	Manchester Cathedral; Compstall, Cheshire; Hayfield, Derbyshire; Edale, Derbyshire; Bamford, Derbyshire; Sheffield Cathedral (NB some performances were vocal performances of Byrd's mass for Three Voices, for which the Extreme Cellists (also singers) were accompanied by Chris Tyler, Rachel Tyler and Laurie Cottam.
24 July-4 August 2006	The Extreme Cello Cathedral Roof Tour	Truro Cathedral; Exeter Cathedral; Wells Cathedral; Bristol Cathedral; Gloucester Cathedral; Hereford Cathedral; Worcester Cathedral; Christ Church, Oxford; Salisbury Cathedral; Winchester Cathedral; Portsmouth Cathedral; Guildford Cathedral; Chichester Cathedral; Canterbury Cathedral; Rochester Cathedral; Southwark Cathedral; St Paul ’s Cathedral; St Alban’s Cathedral; Chelmsford Cathedral; St Edmundsbury Cathedral; Norwich Cathedral; Ely Cathedral; Peterborough Cathedral; Leicester Cathedral; Coventry Cathedral; Birmingham Cathedral; Lichfield Cathedral; Derby Cathedral; Southwell Minster; Lincoln Cathedral; Sheffield Cathedral; Wakefield Cathedral; Manchester Cathedral; Chester Cathedral; Liverpool Cathedral; Blackburn Cathedral; Bradford Cathedral; York Minster; Ripon Cathedral; Durham Cathedral; Newcastle Cathedral; and Carlisle Cathedral
24 July 2007	The Extreme Cello Monopoly Monopoly (game) Marvin Gardens, the leading yellow property on the board shown, is actually a misspelling of the original location name, Marven Gardens. The misspelling was said to be introduced by Charles Todd and passed on when his home-made Monopoly board was copied by Charles Darrow and thence to Parker...  Board Challenge	London specifically Old Kent Road; Whitechapel Road; The Angel, Islington; Euston Road Euston Road Euston Road is an important thoroughfare in central London, England, and forms part of the A501. It is part of the New Road from Paddington to Islington, and was opened as part of the New Road in 1756... ; Pentonville Road; Pall Mall; Whitehall; Northumberland Avenue; Bow Street; Marlborough Street; Vine Street; The Strand; Fleet Street; Trafalgar Square; Leicester Square; Coventry Street; Piccadilly; Regent Street; Oxford Street; Bond Street; Park Lane; and Mayfair.
21-30 July 2008	The Extreme Cello Four Peaks Challenge	Ben Nevis (Scotland); Scafell Pike (England); Snowdon (Wales); Carrauntoohil (Ireland)
26 April 2009	Extreme Cello do the Sheffield Half-Marathon	Three locations en route
24 July-6 August 2010	The Extreme Cello Coast-to-Coast Challenge	38 locations between St Bees (Cumbria) and Robin Hood's Bay (North Yorkshire), whilst walking 193 miles

Discography

To date the Extreme Cellists have not released any recordings of their performances although some videos are available on various social media.

External links

• http://www.extreme-cello.com/index.html – the official site of the Extreme Cellists
• http://www.aspire.org.uk/default.aspx - the site of the charity most frequently supported by the group
• BBC News
  BBC News
  BBC News is the department of the British Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs. The department is the world's largest broadcast news organisation and generates about 120 hours of radio and television output each day, as well as online...
  
  New high for Extreme Cellists video.