Now we're going to meet a cellist on our symphonic safari adventure, shall we?

Hello.

Hello.

I'm Roger, Roger Rhythm and you are.

I'm Greg Sauer.

Nice to meet you, Roger.

Nice to meet you, too.

Greg, thank you for coming.

Greg, you play the cello, I see.

I do.

Looks like a very big, nice instrument.

I love the cello.

I always have.

It's the second biggest in the string family.

second to the double bass.

Ah I see.

Greg, could you tell me a little bit about where you grew up and how was music a part of your childhood?

I grew up in Davenport, Iowa, and I began playing the cello at age nine in the fourth grade, and I loved it right off and just played in orchestras and at school.

And what did you love most about it?

I remember being taken with the sound of the instrument, just the beauty of the sound when I was in the fourth grade.

A group of string players came to our school to show us the instruments and kind of like we're doing here, but we're doing it in a different platform.

Um, and I remember just gravitating toward the sound of the cello.

So it was something that just drew you the passion.

And the beauty of the tone.

Yeah.

Now, of course, as a musician, you have to practice correct?

Yeah, yeah.

How often do you practice?

I practice every day pretty much 365, you know, once in a while, I'll miss a day.

But uh yeah, every day.

Good.

Now, Greg, most people remember some of the first songs they learned how to play.

Could you go back many years and think about the first song you learned how to play?

What was it?

And then we would like to hear it.

Well, I think the first song I learned to play was something like Popcorn and Pepsi, which went like something like that, which is, you know, where you start.

But soon after I graduated to a piece that's more melodic called the Swan.

Oh, and it sounds like this.

Oh pretty right?

I love that song, I remember that song, I heard it over and over.

first time hearing it loud.

Amazing.

I love that.

Tell us when it comes to motivation, what motivates you to play?

Just the beauty of the music really keeps me going.

The gift that we have as musicians.

Music that's been written starting, you know, many centuries ago to the music that's being written today is an amazing gift.

And just the fact that we get to interact with music and that special way is what does it for me.

It's like that connection that we have with music.

What is it like when you play and you see someone that's connected to what you're playing?

What does that feel like?

Oh, it feels very nice to have close listeners that are paying good attention.

You can really sense the, uh, the energy between the listener and the performer.

And could you give us the range of your musical instrument, the cello, lowest to highest.

Yeah, it has a wide range.

The lowest sound is here.

And because these strings are like our vocal cords, the shorter they get, the higher the pitch gets.

So when I get on the top string and shorten it to way up there.

It's quite a high note.

And not only I hear, do you not do this with your instrument, but you pluck it?

Yes, occasionally we pluck for a nice effect.

Oh, is that written in the music?

Yes, it's written in as pizzicato.

Looks like pizza.

I would love some pizza today, maybe at lunch, and some musicians actually name their instruments, does yours have a name?

I have different names for it.

Sometimes it's Celeste.

Sometimes it's Bob.

Depends on depends on the day.

And when you travel, does it go first class with you?

Not first class usually, but I do bring the cello on board on the airplane.

And tell us what's the farthest you've ever been playing the cello?

Farthest away, yes, I think I was probably the farthest was in China a couple of years ago.

I went with a string quartet was a fascinating trip.

That was the farthest.

Wow, how was it?

Oh, it was amazing.

It was, uh, very eye-opening in very many ways.

Did you ever think that the cello would take you to China when you started?

I certainly didn't.

When I was in the fourth grade trundling up to my school, you know?

I did not think about going to China with this thing.

I could barely get it to school.

Amazing.

Lovely.

Love it.

Could you also tell us a little bit when it comes to to playing your music, you seem to have a lot of passion.

With it, so I want to give you a chance to play a piece that's passionate for you that you love.

Oh wow.

I love so many pieces that I play.

I gravitate often toward the music of Bach, J.S Bach He wrote some beautiful pieces for the cello and They're there for the cello, all by itself, and I gravitate toward that, I'll play a little bit of a piece by Bach Oh, I love that.

The way that you put yourself into it, I remember that tune I remember hearing it, and it's just lovely, dancey.

Yes, it is.

And something like that.

How long does that take you to play to learn?

It takes a fair amount of practice.

Yeah, lots of hours to master the instrument, for sure.

But they're worthwhile hours.

And when it comes to playing this type of music, could you tell us a little bit more about what it's like to play with an orchestra?

Oh, it's a real thrill to play with a whole symphonic orchestra.

The first of all, the sense of community.

The shared experience is really special and also just the sound of the whole group and everyone comes together and, you know, feels the music together.

It's really there.

It's a thrill.

I can only imagine what it must be like.

Could you also play something that an orchestra would play, but we want to hear your part in it.

Uh-Huh.

In the 1812 Overture by Tchaikovsky, the cello section has a choral tune that begins the piece, and it sounds like this.

Oh, that is so nice to hear.

Very soothing throughout all of this.

Yeah, the piece is based on that corral.

It gets it.

It gets more dramatic from there, starts in a gentle way.

What is it like being on stage playing the cello?

Oh, it's just the thing I love most.

Well, one of the things I love most, at least.

Oh, great.

Now here comes a part that we call this rapid fire.

Oh boy.

And I'm going to give you two choices.

I don't know if I'm good at rapid fire.

I think you can do it.

I'm going to give you two choices.

All right.

And you just choose the one that you like the most.

All right.

Here goes.

Tacos are burritos?

Burritos.

Oh, Star Wars or Star Trek?

Uh, Star Trek.

Oh, I like it.

Bach or Beethoven?

Can't choose between them Oh, Mozart or Strauss?

Mozart.

Oh, OK. And one more.

Museums or water parks?

Museums.

Oh all right.

And a couple of things about the cello is that I believe I understand this that the strings were made out of .

They were formally made of gut the the intestines of sheep.

Mm hmm.

Now they're made of generally made of steel, although some people still play on gut strings.

Amazing.

Just fantastic.

Thank you so much, Greg.

Really appreciate it and thank you all.

Bye bye.

Thank you.