“Price sets an astounding foundation to [Pearl and the Beard’s] unique sound on the cello, taking the same sort of imposing command of the instrument that Scott Avett does of the banjo – using and abusing it in ways you never realized were possible.” -The Wiskey Dregs Magazine (“Pearl and the Beard’s CMJ Review,”
“When cellist and singer Emily Hope Price isn’t on tour with her band Pearl and the Beard or recording her own solo work, the Brooklyn-based songwriter is working on her 365 Project, in which she plans to write a song a day for a year (she started Jan. 4). Price is posting all of the songs online here, and if this track from her debut solo album is any indication, there’ll be plenty of riches to choose from once the project is finished. On “Danny Sorrow,” Price’s voice flits between cabaret-esque moodiness and powerful soulfulness on a tune that expertly blends melodramatic pop and folk.” -Alana Harper WNYC
“…intriguingly imaginative cellist/composer…” – Lucid Culture, June 2009
“If you are lucky, cellist Price will grace you with a solo performance. I can’t say enough about her talent and the impact of amplifying modern lyrics with a classical instrument. It’s hypnotic.” – SoHo Journal
“Emily Hope Price is an extremely versatile musician, popular in the Anti-Folk scene in New York City. She brings new depth to cello performance by adding many effects such as looping, distortion, sampling and improvising on the spot.” The Racquette- SUNY Potsdam News
“Emily Hope Price, a cellist, makes some of the craziest sounds come out of that thing. She shreds the cello, and now we’re jello, ba-by.” – L Magazine
Emily Hope Price is a New York-based freelance cellist, singer, songwriter, film composer, arranger, performer, and illustrator. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree from Utah State University, Master’s Degree from Carnegie Mellon University, and Artist Diploma from SUNY Purchase – all in Cello Performance. She spent 8 years writing, performing, and traversing the globe with Brooklyn-based indie band Pearl and the Beard, proudly releasing 5 albums of work. Emily was also the cellist for Sting in his Broadway musical The Last Ship, co-music directed and performed the score for the play “All We Have Left” in conjunction with the Jim Henson Foundation with bandmate Jocelyn Mackenzie, and performed in the off-Broadway musical Futurity with music composed by the band The Lisps, and currently works regularly on Broadway. She has performed, recorded, and collaborated with many amazing artists including Roger Waters, D’Angelo, Ani DiFranco, Rob Thomas, 9 Horses, and piano prodigy Emily Bear. She has been a guest artist teaching improvisation at the New Harmony Music Festival in New Harmony, Indiana, the Cello Fury Rock Camp in Pittsburgh, PA, and the New Directions Cello Festival. She is currently an active solo performer, teacher, coach, and freelancer in New York City. She is currently working on her solo music project, two web series’ Darling Please Understand and Look, Honey, I Know, and is publishing a book of her illustrations – Backhanded Illustrated: odd drawings of painfully honest, strange looking people who may or may not represent actual events which may or may not have occurred.
She has recorded and performed live in concert and on Broadway with her cello for many acclaimed musicians, a few of those include Sting, D’Angelo (live and Spotify Sessions), Roger Waters, pianist Emily Bear, George Crumb, Rob Thomas, Ani DiFranco, Devotchka, Ingrid Michaelson, and Nadia Ali. She has been seen and heard on national TV and radio broadcasts with Sting, Jacob Whitesides, harpist Bridget Kibbey, and Pearl and the Beard. She toured extensively with Pearl and the Beard and many other projects to cities both domestic and international including New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Pittsburgh, Miami, Chicago, Egypt, and throughout England, Germany and Romania as well as scoring and arranging for film in feature length (Unicorn City) and short form (commercials, independent short documentaries).
She spent 8 years writing, recording, performing, and touring as part of Brooklyn trio Pearl and the Beard. After releasing their third and final full length album as a band in the summer of 2015, they parted ways and Emily has since become more involved with theater, film, and solo projects. After being doored by a car while on her bike left her with lots of free time, she also become the creator of Backhanded Illustrated: drawings of painfully honest, strange looking people who may or may not represent actual events and fleeting thoughts that may or may not have occurred.
Emily prefers cool, moody weather, good movies with great soundtracks, and every enormous, absolutely huge kind of dog.
…MORE (in specifics)
Emily received a master’s degree in Cello Performance from Carnegie Mellon University studying with Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra Principle cellist Anne-Martindale Williams and PSO Associate cellist David Premo. Emily relocated to complete a one year post-graduate program in cello performance at SUNY Purchase with cellist Julia Lichten of The Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. Since graduating, she has performed and recorded for various musicians all over the east coast and abroad.
On January 4, 2010, Emily undertook The 365 Project, a year long, song-a-day exercise that was blogged about daily at http://www.emilyhopeprice.com, inspired by musician Brian Speaker, who completed his own song-a-day-for-a-year project, Spiral Notebook. Fortuitously, the project was interrupted when Emily was asked to score and supervise the independent feature film “Unicorn City” with the help of producer/engineer James Frazee. On June 1, 2009, she released her first solo studio-EP, “The Crux and The Bluestocking”, and since The 365 Project‘s inception, Emily released several limited edition EPs of select 365 songs – each release contained different selections from the 365 Project. All releases of The Crux and the Bluestocking as well as any 365 Project recordings were hand-made and hand-pressed.
EMILY HOPE PRICE 