I was going to make globetrotting professional cellist Samara Ginsberg’s 8-cello take on the Thundercats theme our video of the day, because it was one of the coolest covers I’ve seen and heard in a long while.

Pause the SCIFI.radio stream using the controller at the upper right (or at the bottom pf the page if you’re on mobile) before you watch this. Dueling soundtracks aren’t quite so much fun.

And then I saw that she had done the theme for Knight Rider (a show near and dear to my heart, as I built light-up electronic props for the opening sequence to the first season of the show back in 1982).

OMG this is like eating kettlecorn. The more you watch the more you want.

Oh, and then I noticed, of course, that she had done Darth Vader’s Theme and Imperial March, which she plays while wearing a Darth Vader mask, and I thought, well, all right then, she really is a geek down to the bottom of her very soul. As a lifetime geek, I see a lot to like there. It also shows that she is a consummate performer and musician, because as anybody knows that’s worn a mask like that or put on a full Darth Vader helmet for even a moment, seeing what you’re doing while wearing it isn’t really a thing. In this video she’s doing it all by touch and muscle memory.

Impressive … most impressive.

And then I found her rendition of the theme to Inspector Gadget, and that pretty much seals the deal.

We accept her we accept her, gubu gabu, gubu gabu, one of us, one of us!

Update – Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, with 10 Cellos!

This new video from Samara, just released today, was sent to us in a hot tip from our Malaysia correspondent Nur Hussein, and we had to go back and include it! This is just excrutiatingly cool.

This is some of the coolest cello work I’ve ever seen.

The Bristol Metropolitan Orchestra describes Samara in glowing terms.

Samara Ginsberg is establishing herself asone of the most versatile cellists of her generation. Born into an artistic family in London in 1982, she began piano and composition lessons at the age of six. She took up the cello at 14, gaining a distinction at Grade 8 within a year and winning several prizes and competitions.

Samara gained a full scholarship to the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where she studied with Stefan Popov. Whilst there, she gained distinctions both for performance and for academic studies. She has participated in masterclasses with Pierre Doumenge, Peter Czaba, the Takacs Quartet and the Vellinger Quartet.

Samara now works predominantly as a chamber musician with several established ensembles. She is the founder, arranger and artistic director of the Jukebox String Quartet, an ensemble specialising in virtuoso rock covers. In addition to this, she is co-principal cello of the Beethoven Orchestra for Humanity, works as a session musician for the Chamber Orchestra of London, and tours the world with comedy string quartet Graffiti Classics. She is a regular contributor to Classical Music, Music Teacher and The Strad magazines.

Samara lives in a converted pub in South London with her partner, pianist Leo Nicholson, and their incredibly spoiled Persian cat. In her spare time she enjoys cooking, sleeping, and popping bubble wrap.

She frequently does guest performances at London’s Royal Albert Hall.

I am delighted to have encountered the musical brilliance of Ms. Ginsberg, and even more delighted to add her new nerdy recordings to the SCIFI.radio library.

-30-

DON’T LEAVE JUST YET. WE NEED YOUR HELP.

SCIFI.radio is listener supported sci-fi, fantasy, comics and
horror fandom news and radio. We’re a fan-operated venture,
and we live or die on your donations alone.
Be the 1%. Click this button to go to our
Patreon page and pledge your support.

Gene Turnbow

President of Krypton Media Group, Inc., radio personality and station manager of SCIFI.radio. Part writer, part animator, part musician, part illustrator, part programmer, part entrepreneur - all geek.