Since the group's inception in late 2007, the Portland Cello Project (or, PCP, as their fans affectionately call them), has wowed audiences all over the country with extravagant performances, everywhere from "A Prairie Home Companion" to that punk rock club in the part of town your grandma warns you not to go to after dark. The group has built a reputation by mixing genres and blurring musical lines and perceptions wherever they go. No two shows are alike, with a repertoire now numbering over 800 pieces of music you wouldn't normally hear coming out of a cello. The Cello Project's mission is threefold:

1: To bring the cello to places you wouldn't normally hear it. (Everywhere from nightclubs to symphony halls, from sports bars to loading docks, from libraries to halftime at Portland Trailblazers games ...)

2: To play music on the cello you wouldn't normally hear played on the instrument. (Everything from Bach to Kanye to Pantera ...)

3: To build bridges across all musical communities by bringing a diverse assortment of musical collaborators on stage with them. (Everyone from the Dandy Warhols to Peter Yarrow to Ben Sollee to Mirah to Garrison Keillor ...)

Says MTV: "It doesn't get much more genre-crossing than this."