Zuill Bailey calls his cello “J-Lo” for its deep curves.
“Since it’s so robust in the area that I like to call the bass tones,” he’ll tell you, gesturing toward the lower half of the instrument, “it produces a sound unlike all other cellos and it’s remarkable.”
Blending pop and classical culture isn’t new for Bailey, who held a recurring role as a murderous musician on HBO’s Oz and appeared dressed down in a grey polo shirt two years ago on NPR’s Tiny Desk Concerts — a series that more commonly hosts indie and pop artists.
But while he’s bringing the cello into non-traditional markets, his repertoire is anything but non-traditional: Bach, Dvorak and Elgar remain king.
“My mission is to make music accessible, but never to cheapen it and never to dumb it down,” said the 40-year-old resident of El Paso, Texas.
Bailey performs Elgar’s Cello Concerto at the Royal Theatre Saturday and Sunday, in a concert that also features in-demand conductor Jean-Marie Zeitouni at the podium. The Victoria Symphony will perform Brahms’ Symphony No. 2 and Estacio’s Brio: Toccata and Fantasy for Orchestra.
“When one hires a cellist to come in, there are really two concertos that are the twin towers of master works celebrated for bringing everyone together,” Bailey said, pointing to Elgar and Dvorak’s concertos, and saying both composers channelled their personal lives into their work.
“In Elgar’s case, he was feeling his mortality, he was questioning everything in a way, writing his biography,” Bailey said.
Sharing the composers’ stories as well as his own is Bailey’s trademark, according to publications such as the Washington Post, which called his performance “a running memoir.” You might hear that he was immediately attracted to the piece growing up, and that it further grew on him with age.
Or he might tell you something completely different — like how his first introduction to the cello came when he ran directly into one. Or how his left hand is longer than his right, because he played so frequently during a growth spurt.
“I practised like a maniac,” he said.
He said he tells personal stories — especially those connected to the pieces — to give the audience a different experience of the classic works.
“Then the audience understands my vantage point, even though they’ll feel it when I play it. It could be the loss of a relative, it could be love, it could be light,” he said. “But when it’s personalized, then you can say as a listener, ‘This is the spot he was saying that does this to him personally.’ In a way, you have your own imagination to project along with the music.”
As with his pop-culture references, it’s all about accessibility. And if communication is his goal, he’s chosen the right instrument.
“The cello, generally speaking, is considered most like the human voice,” he said. “When you play in the middle, it’s very adept at expressing the spoken word, a comfort zone that we as listeners accept because it’s warm, endearing, alluring.”
Where: Royal Theatre
When: Saturday, 8 p.m. and Sunday, 2:30 p.m.
Tickets: $18 to $75 (plus service charge) at rmts.bc.ca or 250-386-6121.
