Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Marc Christian. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Marc, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you take us back in time to the first dollar you earned as a creative – how did it happen? What’s the story?

One of my earliest memories of making money with music was a craigslist recording session. I did not have a musical reputation at all at this point so I would constantly post craigslist adds for anyone looking for a cellist haha.

One day, I actually saw an add someone posted about needing a cellist for a recording session. The pay was $40. I remember being so nervous about going to the session that I “warmed up” for multiple hours before arriving to the studio. Thinking back on how many hours I put into this, I probably got payed about $6 an hour.

The recording session went well and the artist was happy with the recording. I left that night $40 richer. But here is the crazy part. After that recording session, I ended up playing a few shows with this artist. I met other string players through those shows. Fast forward about 3 years later, one of the string players I met ended up contracting me for a Grammy performance recording session. My $40 recording session got me working for the Grammys years later. Funny how life works!

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

My name is Marc Christian, I grew up in Southern CA in a huge family, 8 siblings. I started playing drums at 8 years old. piano at 9, and cello at 10. I grew up playing cello in my family’s string trio as my older brother played viola and our younger sister played violin. I studied classical cello in College in Los Angeles. Soon after started working in LA as a music instructor, recording artist, special events musician, and every so often I would get the exciting calls to play alongside musical celebrities and big events such as the Grammys and movie award shows!

I moved out of Los Angeles to Temecula, CA a few years back. Temecula is probably the most dense part of the wedding industry in California. We have close to 50 wedding venues within a 30 mile radius. Needless to say I went heavily into the wedding industry after I got here. These past few years have been such an amazing journey. Ive had the pleasure of playing for hundreds of couples and doing my part in making their day special and memorable.

As of 2023, I am a full time luxury wedding musician! I take modern songs that you know and love and give them an elegant classical makeover. I play solo mainly but I often play in duos, trios, or quartets as well. I have different arrangements with guitarist, pianist, violinist, harpist, and vocalist. Cello is such a beautiful instrument with the potential to be extremely emotion provoking. Thats what I specialize in. The type of music that will make you tear up. In a good way of course haha.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

This is an interesting questions. I have just recently realized some subconscious beliefs in myself that I am trying to unlearn. Beliefs that I know have held me back in the past. When I was 18, I went to college for classical music. Back then, I entered the music program a little behind my string player peers. I remember practicing 6 hours per day in attempt to catch up. However, no matter how hard I tried I still felt light years behind everyone else. One thing you have to understand about young classical musicians, is that they often tie their whole identity to their musical ability. I was in this camp of thought. Starting out as a less advanced player during this time resulted in seeing myself as someone that would always be behind. Seeing myself as a person who will barely make the cut.

Today, I have been out of college for over a decade. At this point, I have caught up with my college peers and have went much further in my career than many of them. However, that feeling of being subpar still resides in my subconscious. Being in a room filled with top industry musicians can still be intimidating. I have to remind myself that I was invited to these gigs for a reason. I deserve a spot here just as much as everyone else. I think this inferiority complex is the biggest thing I am unlearning. We all get in our own way. This is how I do it. By putting an imaginary ceiling on myself. I think if we can all get out of our own head then things will flow the way they are meant too.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

I see my creative journey as one of my life purposes. I believe in God and I know God has a particular path for everyone. To put simply, I believe that the purpose of my career is to serve and connect with others through music. This is my drive for continuing my musical journey. When I am feeling burnt out or unmotivated I go back to my careers purpose. To serve and connect with others through music. That gets me up and moving again.

Contact Info:

• Website: MarcChristianCello.com
• Instagram: Instagram.com/MarcChristian.Cello
• Facebook: Facebook.com/RoyelStrangely
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/MarcChristianCello

Image Credits
Jakob Holmes Images