Portland Cello Project

The first time you see the Portland Cello Project perform you might be perplexed when you hear affectionate fans shouting "We Love PCP!" In spite of a barrage of musical and visual sensory overload, you'll figure out that you aren't in a crowd of horse-tranquilizer-snorting maniacs, and that "PCP" is the tongue-in-cheek acronym of this group of classically trained cellists. But you'll wonder what kind of a crowd this isâ In the course of one of PCP's epic 2-3 hour shows (the format of which is always a one-time affair the group writes almost entirely new arrangements for every performance cycle) you'll see such sights as: old ladies, straight out of the symphony hall nodding their head to cello hip-hop; young children playing air cello while dancing to 16 cellos accompanying The Builders and The Butchers; hipsters too-cool-for-school mesmerized by Arvo Paert; members of the Decemberists playing late 19th century Russian compositions transcribed for Hammond Organ, a 40-piece choir, and of course: a symphony of cellos. Since the group's inception in late 2007, they have performed with a veritable "Who's Who?" list of Portland musicians, from Laura Gibson to The Dandy War... more...