Latest news with #cellist
National Post
04-07-2025
- Entertainment
- National Post
Cellist turned away from Air Canada flight after his instrument wasn't allowed to board
A cellist's quick trip from Baltimore to Montreal turned into a two-day odyssey after Air Canada refused to let him bring his instrument on the plane. This despite the fact that he had paid full fare for a second seat specifically for the instrument, crafted in 1695 and worth over a million dollars, to fly with him. Article content Amit Peled is an Israeli-American cellist, conductor and teacher who has performed at venues around the world and released more than a dozen recordings including The Jewish Soul and Cellobration. Article content He's no stranger to travelling by air with his instrument propped up in the seat next to him. 'Almost every week of my life,' he told National Post in an interview 'That's what I do. In the last 30 years, I've been traveling all over the world.' Article content Article content This week he was on his way to the Orford Music Festival near Sherbrooke, Que., where he was due to perform and also teach a class. But after driving from his home in Baltimore to the airport in Philadelphia, he was told by an Air Canada employee that his cello couldn't board the plane. Article content He was flabbergasted. He'd had issues before — often because his musical companion doesn't have a passport — but they've generally been solved at the airport. 'However, this time in Philadelphia, the lady at the counter said: You can't bring the cello with you because it was not named the right way in the computer.' Article content He said the employee informed him that she could make a change but that it would cost $700. 'And I said, well, I already paid a full-price ticket. And here it is. It's right here in front of you. You can see it. And she said: I'm really sorry.' Article content Peled decided to go through to the gate anyway, hoping someone there would help him, but he was given the same answer. 'Everybody goes on the plane, and I told her, I'm going to miss my flight, and thus I'm going to not be in the festival where I have to teach and play,' he said. 'She didn't care. And then, of course, the door closed and I missed the flight.' Article content Article content View this post on Instagram A post shared by Amit Peled (@amitpeledcellist) Article content Angry and stranded, Peled shot a short video in front of the gate, showing his cello and suitcase and explaining his plight. Article content Article content 'I have a full class of students waiting for me there from all over the world,' he says in the video, posted to social media. 'I have my cello ticket, my ticket, and just here at the gate I'm denied entrance because the procedure to ride for the cello was not right on the computer.' Article content He ends by saying: 'I'm really really sorry and I hope to be able to teach the students on Zoom. I can't perform on Zoom but I'll teach them on Zoom. I'm going home and never ever ever fly Air Canada again.' Article content Peled then called his daughter to pick him up for the two-hour drive back to Baltimore. But as he got home, his phone rang. 'I get a phone call from somebody from Air Canada, and I'm shocked. And that person is in charge of customer service, calling me,' he said. Article content The airline had seen the video. 'Can you believe that? I mean, it's the first time in my life, honestly, that social media did something good for me. I was absolutely shocked. I mean, it's not just somebody from Air Canada. It's like the guy who runs customer service calling me, and he says: I'm really sorry, but I saw the video, and first I want to apologize.'
Geek Tyrant
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Geek Tyrant
Tony Gilroy's Next Film Ditches Galaxies for Cellos, with Oscar Isaac Set to Star — GeekTyrant
After years immersed in the intricate, morally gray politics of Andor and the sprawling machinery of Star Wars , Tony Gilroy is making a sharp turn toward something more grounded and personal. The filmmaker, best known for Michael Clayton , the Bourne films, and his miraculous salvage of Rogue One , is setting his sights on a very different kind of story: a drama about a cellist. In an interview with /Film, Gilroy revealed that his next project is 'a movie about movie music, about scoring and musicians, and the scoring musicians.' The story centers on a symphonic cellist who returns to Los Angeles after years away. 'Oscar Isaac is going to play the cellist,' Gilroy said. 'It's a cellist who comes back to L.A. from a very heavy studio, third-generation music family. He comes back to L.A. for a few months to do sessions on movies. [...] It's [about] why he came back and why he went away.' The film, which may be the mysterious 'Behemoth!' project that made a quiet splash in trades last year is shaping up to be a meditative, music-driven character piece. For Gilroy, this is a personal project. Speaking with Variety, he explained, 'I was a musician when I was young. I really was serious about it for a while. I loved being in recording studios… When we get to the scoring, it's my happiest place.' That connection is what drives the film's narrative structure, which Gilroy describes as nonlinear and musical in nature. 'The whole movie is told through the [music] cues—the cues trigger flashbacks over the last 20 years that tell you why he left and why he's come back,' he said. 'It's a movie that surfs on music.' Gilroy wrote the script quickly, and said he was 'in really good shape and wrote much more sharply than I probably would've done it five years ago.' He's producing the film with Andor executive producer Sanne Wohlenberg, and his brother, composer John Gilroy, is also onboard. While they've secured Oscar Isaac, a tax credit, and the creative team, the biggest challenge now? Shooting in Los Angeles. 'It's really difficult to shoot in L.A., as everyone knows,' Gilroy said. 'And it's about film scoring, which most of the people in your audience know is really like coral reefs, man. It's just going away, and if it doesn't get saved soon, it really will die completely.' That's quite a critique on the harsh realities of modern scoring work. As Vanity Fair reported in 2022, many musicians in Hollywood face grueling hours and unfair conditions, often ghostwriting cues under top-billed composers. Whether Gilroy plans to address this directly is unclear, but the way he tells his stories, I imagine it's not off the table. This sounds like a crazy ambitious project, and I hope that he manages to get it off the ground.
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Cello pilgrim to perform special Meditation at Bradford Cathedral
A cellist will perform at Bradford Cathedral as part of a 2,000-mile pilgrimage. Kenneth Wilson, 66, has set himself the task of cycling to all 42 Anglican cathedrals in England - in 40 of which he will give a performance of his specially-written 'Meditation on the Seven Last Words.' The Meditation combines Mr Wilson's short poems with Bach's solo cello music, and is an evocation of Jesus's last hours on the cross. Mr Wilson said: "It's more than a religious work, though. "The Meditation offers music and poetry that has meaning well beyond that. "Even if you've never been in a cathedral before, I hope the meditation – as well as the journey – will speak to you." The 'Pilgrim Cello' pilgrimage will begin on May 18, and Mr Wilson will perform at Bradford Cathedral on Friday, May 23, at 3pm. On his journey, Mr Wilson will also be carrying with him seven paintings by abstract artist Gillian Lever, which illustrate the Seven Last Words. Entry to the Bradford Cathedral performance is free, with a retiring collection, and interest can be expressed at More information about the wider tour is available at
