23-year-old cellist Kevin "KO" Olusola, hails from the small town of Owensboro, Kentucky. Since he started at six, he became Principal Cellist of the Kentucky All-State Symphony Orchestra and also co-principal cellist of the Yale Symphony Orchestra. Kevin has soloed for National Public Radio, Carnegie Hall, and PBS. In January of 2009, KO was the Runner-up in world-wide renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma's "Celebrate and Collaborate" international competition out of more than 400 contestants from across the globe. Yo-Yo Ma commented that Kevin's cello/beatbox version of "Dona Nobis Pacem" was "inventive and unexpected."
Kevin’s Youtube video of him performing Mark Summer’s “Julie-O” for cello and beatboxing garnered national acclaim on media channels like CBS, AOL, Huffington Post, Washtington Post, and others. Because of this video, Kevin not only toured with Gungor on the David Crowder Band “7” Tour, but also became a founding member of Pentatonix, a 5-member a cappella electro-pop a cappella group. Pentatonix was recently signed to Sony for winning Season 3 of “The Sing-Off.” Kevin has soloed on From the Top on National Public Radio, Carnegie Hall, and PBS.
He was just recently named a member of The Grio’s 100: Class of 2012, a website dedicated to 100 influential African-Americans influincing change in the world, was featured on the Today Show, and performed a solo midcourt at the 2012 Orlando NBA All-Star Game. Stay tuned for what Kevin will be doing next!
