Joan Jeanrenaud facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Joan Jeanrenaud
Jeanrenaud in 2008
Background information
Birth name	Joan Dutcher
Born	(1956-01-25) January 25, 1956 (age 69) Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.
Genres	Avant-garde
Instruments	Cello
Years active	1978–present

Joan Jeanrenaud (born January 25, 1956) is an American cellist. She is known for her amazing cello playing. Joan was born in Memphis, Tennessee. She played with a famous group called the Kronos Quartet for many years, from 1978 to 1999.

After leaving the Kronos Quartet, Joan started her own solo career. She also began working with other artists. She sometimes plays her cello along with electronic instruments, which creates unique sounds. Her first solo album, Metamorphosis, was described as "visceral, hypnotic, and often compelling," meaning it was very powerful and captivating.

Joan's Unique Cello Performances

Joan Jeanrenaud plays a special cello made around 1750. She has done some really cool and unusual performances.

The Ice Cello Project

One of her most interesting projects was called Ice Cello. For this, a copy of her cello was carved out of ice! She performed with this ice cello for four hours in 2004. Imagine playing a cello made of ice!

Grammy Nomination for Strange Toys

In 2008, Joan's album Strange Toys was nominated for a Grammy Award. This is a very big honor in music! The album was produced by PC Muñoz. They later worked together again on another album called Pop-Pop in 2010. Joan said Pop-Pop was "a pop record that wasn't actually pop," meaning it had a unique sound that wasn't typical pop music.

Music for Movies

Joan has also played cello for many film scores. A film score is the music that plays in a movie. She has worked with composer William Susman on soundtracks for films like Oil on Ice (2005), Fate of the Lhapa (2007), and Music for Moving Pictures (2009). Her music helps tell the story in these movies.

Joan Jeanrenaud with the Kronos Quartet in San Francisco, 1983

Joan Jeanrenaud's Music Albums

Joan Jeanrenaud has released many albums throughout her career. Here are some of them:

• Metamorphosis (2002)
• Oil On Ice (with William Susman) (2004)
• Fly Fly Fly (with Larry Ochs, Miya Masaoka) (2004)
• For Birds, Planes & Cello (with Miya Masaoka) (2005)
• Strange Toys (2008)
• Pop-Pop (with PC Muñoz) (2010)
• The Sands of Time (with Mark Grey) (2014)
• Hommage (2014)
• Visual Music (2016)
• Second Time Around (with Charlie Varon) (2016)

Albums with Other Musicians

Joan has also recorded albums with other groups, like with Fred Frith and Maybe Monday:

• Digital Wildlife (2002)