Happy Birthday, Cello Museum!
Scroll down to enter our prize drawing for a chance to win prizes!
We love Cello Birthdays, and now it’s time to celebrate our own, Cello Museum Birthday! It’s hard to believe that we’ve been online for two years now as an online museum – the first of its kind. Please join us in celebrating by entering our prize giveaway below and reminiscing with us here.
Beginnings
Jeremy Montagu 29 October 2019
I remember sitting with Jeremy Montagu at his home in Oxford in October of 2019 as if it were yesterday. The idea of creating a globally-accessible cello museum came to me in a flash, and Jeremy and I discussed creating an online museum. He was one of my two doctoral supervisors, and this felt as if it were my last – and probably my best – tutorial with him. Read about how Jeremy and I had a wonderful exchange of ideas and plans that day.
The Cello Museum is the first of its kind: centered on one musical instrument, and conceived from the start as being completely online. The goal was – and is – to create an internet-based platform with cello exhibitions, articles, and news, and to make this accessible and free to everyone around the world who loves the cello.
The Year in Review
This has been an exciting second year for us. Here are some highlights:
- We collaborated with the London Cello Society (Selma Gokcen, Chair) on their Soul Music project with “Works for the Cello Inspired by Hebraic Themes,” Part 1 by Dr. Yuriy Leonovich, and Part 2 by Erica Lessie.
- We brought together #cellistsforpeace from around the world in our Ukrainian National Anthem Cello Project with audio/video design and editing by the remarkable Laura Sam and anthem advising by Ukrainian cellist, Vladyslav Primakov.
- We welcomed Gill Tennant to our team along with two new writers and their wonderful series: Dr. Peter Swanson, writing about cello works by Max Reger; and Dr. Shulamit Sarid, who is exploring cello history through a feminist lens.
- Over the summer, we launched a 45-day Founders Campaign to raise funds to hire our first paid team member – a Cello Museum assistant. Thanks to the generosity of our Founders, we have hired our new assistant, who joins our team at the end of September 2022.
- Every week for two years, we’ve had a new article and a listing of online cello concerts and events. Our second year includes interviews with some amazing cellists and composers:
Our Series
In 2020, we started with one series: Erica’s Postcards, published on the last week of every month. Her first set featured unaccompanied works by women composers. After a year, Erica’s focus turned to unaccompanied works by Black composers.
Over time, we added several series:
- My Curator’s Corner highlights our planned articles and activities for the month (1st week of every month)
- A Spotlight on New York Women Composers and their works for the cello (2nd week of every month)
- Dr. Shulamit Sarid’s series explores the history of the cello through a feminist lens (3rd week of every month)
- Bow History by Andrew Bellis (every few months)
- Dr. Peter Swanson’s Reger series (every few months)
- Dr. Leonovich’s articles about cello repertoire (formerly the 3rd week of every month)
Stay tuned for several new series, including Research Resources, Cello Career Paths, and Kids Talking Cello.
Ten Favorite Articles
It’s always difficult for me to choose my favorite articles as I’ve enjoyed all of them, so I’ve turned to Google for help and was happy to discover the group includes some of my favorites. Here are ten of our most popular articles, excluding the interviews listed above:
- Queen Elizabeth II and the Cello — A tribute to Her Majesty and her life of service with a focus on the cello.
- Vlad Primakov: Ukrainian Cellist Returns Home to Help His Family and Country — What is it like to be a cellist caught in the war in Ukraine? At the start of the war, we spoke with Ukrainian cellist Vlad Primakov to find out.
- Charlie Chaplin: Passionately Fond of the Cello — Charlie Chaplin, the iconic, world-famous comic actor who built his career in the era of silent films, also played the cello.
- A Tribute to Jacqueline du Pré — Jaqueline du Pré was one of the greatest cellists of the 20th century despite her tragically short career.
- James Bond, the Sniper, and a Stradivarius Cello — A Bond film from the 1980s is a delightful romp with a fictional Stradivarius cello in tow.
- 7 Ways Bernhard Romberg Influences the Cello World Today — A Beethoven contemporary, Bernhard Romberg was a famous, touring, virtuoso cellist.
- House of Music – Celebrating One of the World’s Most Musical Families — Cello lovers are perhaps most familiar with the name Kanneh-Mason from star cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason, who rose to global fame after playing at the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. But did you know that Sheku is one of seven extraordinarily talented and hard-working musical siblings? Now fans can learn more through his mother’s beautifully written memoir. Dr. Kadiatu Kanneh-Mason’s House of Music: Raising the Kanneh-Masons offers an inside look at one of the world’s most musical families.
- The Cello Sonatas of Jean-Baptiste Bréval — Bréval composed his cello sonatas circa the 1780s, and they make a continuum of sonatas according to difficulty.
- A Cello Helped Launch One of the Most Popular TV Shows of All Time — A specially modified Vaudeville cello helped launch I Love Lucy, one of the most popular TV shows of all time.
- That’s All, Hoax! — When we think of a hoax, things like Bigfoot and UFOs come to mind. But music has its own share of hoaxes. The genre is even called “musical hoax.” You might not realize this, but many of us have musical hoaxes in our repertoire.
Thank You!
Whether this is your first visit or you’ve been with us from the beginning, thank you for joining us here at the Cello Museum. Creating and working at the Cello Museum is a dream come true, particularly for my fellow curator Erica Lessie and me.
A Chance to Win Prizes!
Please help us celebrate by entering for a chance to win a prize from our limited edition product line. Every Sunday for four weeks, starting next Sunday (25 September, 2 October, and 9 October, 16 October), we’ll be doing a random prize drawing.
Here are the prizes:
- 25 September: a cello sticker – Winner: Lilith Bone, Norwich, UK
- 2 October: a notebook – Winner: Guus, The Netherlands
- 9 October: a T-shirt – Winner: Waltham Forest Cello Fest, London, UK
- 16 October: a tote bag – Winner: Martha Vallon, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
Enter for a Chance to Win
Our prize drawings are now finished for this celebration. Didn’t win? Enter our UK Black History Month Giveaway here.
How You Can Help
While this online museum is completely free to visitors, we would be grateful for your help keeping our digital servers and plugins running. Please tell your cello-loving friends, students, family, and colleagues about us.
We are also grateful for your support through donations and museum shop purchases. Every little bit helps.
Thank you.
Your Turn
What topics would you like to see us cover in the future? Please tell us in the comments.
