At the age of 26, Tina Guo has already developed a fascinating
international multi-faceted performing career as a solo
classical cellist, rock/metal/fusion electric cellist, and
acclaimed recording artist known for her distinctive sound and
improvisatory style in major motion picture and television
scores. She is also a composer, producer, photo
artist/light painter, and published poet and writer.
Tina is currently the featured soloist on the electric cello
in Cirque Du Soleil's Michael Jackson "The Immortal" World
Tour, an international all-arena tour that begins this
October, starting in North America and moving to international
dates in 2013. Tina has recently been featured on NBC,
ABC, FOX, and CBS News and Entertainment Programs, promoting
her new mutli-genre solo album "The Journey."
Tina has appeared as a classical soloist with the San Diego
Symphony, the State of Mexico National Symphony, the
Thessaloniki State Symphony in Greece, the Bari Symphony in
Italy, the Petrobras Symphony and the Barra Mansa Symphony in
Brazil, and the Vancouver Island Symphony in British
Columbia. She recently recorded with the tango group,
Triango for FIM Records in Slovakia, and the Vivaldi Concerto
in C minor for Cello, Harpischord, and Strings, as well as the
Elgar Concerto in Italy for Wide Classics. She played at
the American Country Music Awards with Carrie Underwood and
soloed on the electric cello alongside Johnny Marr of the
Smiths and Hans Zimmer at the Premiere of Inception in
Hollywood. Tina also recently performed and recorded as
a guest with the Jazz/Fusion Miles Evans Band, and appeared on
Dancing with the Stars performing
with Carlos Santana and India Arie. She is also featured
on electric cello solos on the new soundtrack for Blizzard's
Diablo III.
Tina performed at the Grammy's with the Foo Fighters, at the
MTV Movie Awards, American Idol, at Comic Con in San
Diego featured on the electric cello in the Battlestar
Galactica Orchestra, and with Brazilian guitarist Victor
Biglione in a Jimi Hendrix Tribute Concert at the Copacabana
Palace in Rio de Janiero. Tina was featured on New Jack
Swing Legend Al. B Sure's new single, "I Love It" and appeared
with him in Billboard Magazine. She also played with Far
East Movement on the Lopez Show and completed a month-long
classical recital tour raising money for a Buddhist
Temple/Organization throughout Indonesia. Tina is the
featured cello and electric cello soloist for Hans Zimmer's
score for Sherlock Holmes and
John Debney's Iron Man 2
score. She is also featured on acoustic and electric
cello solos for Bill Brown's score for CSI:NY and recently
recorded solo cellos for Red
Riding Hood and Abduction.
Season highlights have included a performance with violinist
Midori Goto in Dvorak's American String Quartet at Walt Disney
Concert Hall in Los Angeles, and three national tours of
Mexico performing the Shostakovich, Dvorak, and Saint-Saens
Cello Concertos. Tina also performed at the wrap party
for the Sundance Film Festival, was featured in a wildlife
benefit concert at the Playboy Mansion, and has shared the
stage with Stevie Wonder, Peter Gabriel, Josh Groban, John
Legend, LeAnn Rhimes, Chris Isaak, Il Divo, and Michael
McDonald. Tina recently performed in a sold-out concert
in England for Dreamworks with Hans Zimmer and John Powell for
a live concert of music from Kung-Fu Panda 2, Pirates of the
Caribbean, Shrek, and many other blockbuster movies featuring
her as soloist on electric cello and erhu.
Tina recently recorded solo cello for John Legend and Tila
Tequila, played on Derek Sherinian's (Dream Theater) new album
with Zakk Wylde, shot a music video with Kelly Clarkson and
Reba McEntire, played on the soundtrack for Hancock, Inception, Battle: Los
Angeles, Clash of the Titans, Predators, The Fast and the Furious, and
on the TV shows Family Guy,
American Dad, King of the Hill, among many
others. Her solos on the electric cello are featured on
entire season score of Iron
Chef and her arrangement and performance of "The
Flight of the Bumble-Bee" was featured in the end credits for
Ben Stiller's The
Heartbreak Kid.
Tina toured with her first band, a rock/classical crossover
group she co-founded called "Metaphor" through Australia,
performing in 21 cities; they presented string workshops and
clinics for aspiring young musicians as a part of the tour's
outreach program. Another past project of Tina's, the
classical "Pegasus Piano Trio" traveled to France and Brazil
for the Franco-Américaine Rencontre de Musique de la
Chambre at the Château de la Bretesche in Missillac and
the Rio International Cello Encounter. In addition
to also performing the Elgar and Saint-Saens Concertos as a
soloist with the Petrobras and Barra Mansa Symphonies while in
Brazil, she gave masterclasses at the Rio International Cello
Encounter. Tina also performed with crossover pianist
William Joseph at the International Philanthropy Summit in
Majorca, Spain.
Tina has won first prize in many classical competitions,
including the Music Heritage Inc. String Competition, the
MTAC, ASTA, and CAPMT California State Solo Competitions, and
the Parness Concerto Competition for Young Artists; she was
awarded the "Most Promising Talent" Award at the California
Young Artists Competition. She also placed first in the
University of Southern California Thorton School's Concerto
Competition, as well as the San Diego Symphony Young Artists
Concerto Competition. A published composer, she has also
been awarded first place in the MTNA California State
Composition Competition for her series of cello duets. They
can be found in Davina Music Publications' chamber music
books. Some of Tina's new age/classical compositions can
be heard on her classical/new age album, "Autumn Winds"
available on iTunes and from the Official Tina Guo Merchandise
Store.
Tina's musical education began at the age of 3, when she began
her piano studies in Shanghai, China. After coming to
America at the age of 5, she began violin lessons with her
mother and later swtiched to cello under the instruction of
her father, Lu-Yan Guo at the age of 7. Tina continued
her professional cello studies with Eleonore Schoenfeld at the
the University of Southern California's Thorton School of
Music on full scholarship, and was also a Governor's Scholar
for academic excellence.
Equally serious and devoted to both her classical and
industrial metal music, Tina hopes to open the hearts and ears
of audiences of seemingly juxtaposing genres. She
continues to balance the spiritual and technical eloquence of
classical music in manipulating the music and emotion within a
defined boundary, and the visceral excitement of paving a new
path as a serious rock musician. "A virtuoso on the
classical cello, equally skilled as a powerhouse shredder on
the electric cello, masterfully balancing classical elegance
with her inner metal child." (The Overture.)
Tina's classical/new age album, "Autumn Winds," is available
on iTunes as well as her new record, "The Journey," released
under her own label 'Guo Industries' with distribution through
Universal. A multi-genre project ranging from
traditional classical works to film music to industrial metal,
it features many of Tina's original compositions. The
Edmonton Journal gave the record 4 stars, with high praise: "A soft, sultry, zephyr of
divine emotion streams from the fret dancing fingers of solo
cellist Tina Guo. Her dynamic mixing of the contemporary
with the modern truly conveys not only the 25 year old’s
multi-faceted talent, but also her unshakable willingness to
blend the conventional with the less than so. The range of
the album ranges from the light and airy Chopin classic,
Polonaise Brillante Op. 3, to the fiery and explosive, Asian
infused, Forbidden City. This alluring blend of rock,
electronic, metal and classical elements brings the refined
sound of the cello to the forefront as the narrator of
Tina’s personal struggles with love and happiness as well as
telling the stories of others in her own unspoken words. Fan
favourite Queen Bee, Guo’s heavy metal adorned take on
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s anthemic Flight of the Bumblee,
finishes off the release with a burst of energy that never
disappoints. Classical is just as its moniker suggests,
classic. However, just because one loves something, does not
mean they cannot demonstrate this love in new and
interesting ways. In the case of Guo, she shows this love
with all the passion of a young heart. One that knows little
sadness, and radiates light in the darknest corners of the
soul."
An avid writer and poet, she recently published her first book
"Event Horizons of Yin and Yang," a collection of
philosophical musings, poetry, and prose, now available.
[ Visit the "Contact" section of this site for direct link.
] Tina is currently working on her second book, which
will feature more poetry alongside her photography/light
painting work.
Tina's instrumental metal music video for her song "Queen Bee"
premiered at the LA Downtown Film Festival and won "Best Music
Video/Short Film." "Queen Bee" was also nominated for
Best Music Video by the Hollywood Music and Media
Awards. Her newest music video, for "Forbidden City,"
off her new multi-genre solo album "The Journey" has just been
released and can be seen at www.Youtube.com/Demix500.
Tina performs on a 1880 Gand & Bernadel Cello.
On electric cello, she plays on her own custom line of
Cambiare GUO Electric Cellos.
http://www.thecambiare.com/The-GUO-cello.php
Tina endorses ENGL Amps, Voodoo Lab Pedals, Coffin Case,
Zoom, Samson, and Shrine Clothing.
ROLLING STONE, ITALY: 2010
"Billy Corgan assumed the role of guitar player on most of the songs on
Nobody's Daughter and penned the main riff for "Samantha."
However for the final recording, Love replaced Corgan's guitar with cello.
Courtney Love told RS magazine: "The cello that you hear is a really hot
Chinese girl with an amazing rack and insanely good hair who is a
heavy metal goddess on cello, Tina Guo."
www.Quillsquotesandnotes.com, April 2007
By Rosemary Phillips
"I am at a loss for words to describe Tina Guo, a young woman of such
intense passion for her art; in fact I am left speechless. What I feel is
immense awe and hope fulfilled to know that this world will be,
in the near future, cradled in the hands of such gifted and philosophical
young people who delve into a far deeper meaning and understanding of life
– in this case – through music."
Bari News (Italy) 22 January 2011
By Nicola Sbisa
"A welcome return to the conductor Michele Nitti on the podium of
the Symphony Orchestra of Bari, confirmed by the presence,
as soloist, of the young Chinese cellist Tina Guo: whimsical and very gifted,
with a rich and vibrant temperament, sustained by a brilliant technique.
In the Saint-Saens Cello Concerto she knows how to bring out the mixture
of lyricism and aggressive “growls”. Very good agreement between
conductor and soloist, and enthusiastic audience for a performance that,
avoiding kitsch temptations, has returned to music all its captivating poignancy.
Tina with enthusiasm gave three encores, with two Bach compositions
and a transcription of Korsakov Flight of the Bumblebee."
All Access Magazine, 13 November 2008
By Giuseppe S. Canzonieri
"Saying that Tina is a talented musician is an understatement."
"Utterly speechless and amazed."
"A musical prodigy."
Indaba Music Online, 16 January 2009
By Yo-Yo Ma
"Very Virtuosic."
ASIA Journal of Culture and Commerce, 23 March 2009
By Rosalynn Carmen
"Tina Guo and her band pretty much took the roof off the house."
The Pueblo Chieftan, 11 March 2007
By Pierre Canyon
"The performance of the Dvorak cello concerto proved to be a delight to the
ear, the mind and the heart."
El Sol de Toluca, 13 October 2006
By Gabriela Rangel
"Guo's interpretive quality and flawless performance was moving and excited
the audience immensely. She is a great artist at only 20 years old."
"When I play my cello, I am completely pure, naked, and open. I long for the moments when my outer shell no longer matters. I hunger for every genuine tear of sorrow, joy, or understanding shared. When you can hear me for who I am, and see me in a way that doesn't involve looking at me, but rather looking through me, only then can I be satisfied.
When I play, I see ghosts. I am only aware of undiluted emotions manifesting; those that arise from the tribulations of life and of death, of the most beautiful love and the most heart wrenching grief. The same purity of feeling that has inspired every creator of art, of music; every human being that has ever dreamed of an ideal, lives in the flowing melodies. Expression through an abstract is blessed in its form to be free from the stains of reality.
When I make music, I rediscover my identity. Not a daughter, a sister, a lover, nor a friend, but only one soul connected to every other person that has walked the earth.
I ache to show you what is inside my heart. I ache to be understood. I ache for all of us to understand our humanity. I ache to tell the world an eternal story. Watch me, hear me pray in the only way I know how."