Steven Sharp Nelson

Steven Sharp Nelson (born July 5, 1977) is an American cellist. He is best known as "The Cello Guy" of the classical new-age musical group The Piano Guys, with whom he has released eight number-one albums and dozens of music videos. He also has three solo albums to his credit. He is considered a pioneer in "cello-percussion", which enhances traditional cello playing with pizzicato and percussive techniques.

Early life and education Steven Sharp Nelson grew up in Salt Lake City, Utah, His mother was a former professional opera singer, and she died from a brain tumor on May 21, 1999, and his younger sister, Camille Nelson, is a folk musician. When he was seven, Nelson's father decided that each of his children would learn to play an instrument invented before 1800. In 2007

Career Nelson initially pursued a career as a real estate developer, becoming the owner of Thornton Walker Real Estate. In 2006 he described his music as "an escape, rather than a vocation", and didn't expect music to become his primary career. His other two solo albums are Tender Mercies (2008) and Christmas Cello (2010). Anderson hired the duo to perform on videos that he would professionally film in unusual locations and upload to his store's YouTube channel.

The Piano Guys gained their first widespread exposure with "Michael Meets Mozart" (2011), thanks to Schmidt's invitation to the nearly 30,000 people on his fan mailing list "to watch it and share it"; as a result, people began watching the videos beyond the region. The video featured Nelson playing 100 cello tracks to achieve the final effect. Their most popular video is a cover of Christina Perri's A Thousand Years, with over 223 million views.

Musical style Nelson performs a variety of musical styles, including classical, folk, new age, and inspirational. He owns 41 cellos, which he says produce different sounds and have different "personalities". He also plays kick drum. He considers his art and his touring as a means to spread the gospel; he says that he also gives away a copy of the Book of Mormon to someone on nearly every tour.

Nelson and his wife, Julie, have four children and reside in Salt Lake City. In 2018 he performed with his wife, who played violin, in a cover of "Rewrite the Stars".

Discography

Solo albums Sacred Cello (2006) Tender Mercies (2008) Christmas Cello (2010) Grace (2014)

The Piano Guys Hits Volume 1 (2011) The Piano Guys (2012) The Piano Guys 2 (2013) A Family Christmas (2013) Wonders (2014) Live!: Carnegie Hall Audio + Red Rocks Concert Video (2015) Uncharted (2016) Christmas Together (2017) Limitless (2018)