ABOUT ME


American cellist Patrick Laird is a much sought-after performer, composer, and arranger.  He is widely recognized as the cellist of viral pop-crossover group Brooklyn Duo, where he performs along with his wife, pianist Marnie Laird. He is also known as the founding member, cellist, and principal songwriter for the cello-rock ensemble Break of Reality. Between Brooklyn Duo and Break of Reality, Patrick has over 400 million YouTube views and billions of plays of his music through streaming services.

From an early age, Patrick was interested in exploring the fusion of classical and rock music.  Throughout his extensive musical education, he found himself grounded in the structure, beauty and expanse of the classical arts, yet drawn to the energy, dynamic range and avant-garde nature of popular music.

With Brooklyn Duo, Patrick and his wife have cultivated a world-wide audience with their many viral covers of popular music. Since their first video performance on YouTube in 2014, they've grown to create a following of over one million subscribers on YouTube and 500,000 followers on Facebook. They've been shared with hundreds of millions of people through mentions from many celebrities, including Taylor Swift, Shakira, a-ha and Pearl Jam. Through digital streaming and internet radio services such as Spotify and Pandora, Brooklyn Duo's songs are streamed over 150 million times every year. Most recently, Brooklyn Duo's music has been licensed for many popular television shows including Grey’s Anatomy, America’s Got Talent, Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist and Pretty Little Liars.

A frequent collaborator in popular music, Patrick has written, arranged and recorded string parts for international pop star Shawn Mendes and has also performed with Shawn live on several occasions, including MTV unplugged, the VMAs and the 2019 Grammy Awards.

As a performer with Break of Reality, he has given concerts in over 40 states across the U.S. in major performing arts centers, rock clubs, concert halls, and colleges. Outside of the U.S., Patrick has performed sold-out concerts on four continents, and has been appointed as a music ambassador for the U.S. State Department.

Patrick arranged and performed the theme song from the HBO show "Game of Thrones". Break of Reality released a video of the performance on YouTube, which has since received over 25 million views. Huffington Post hailed the arrangement as "the best rendition of the theme song you will ever hear...that blows any other version of the GoT tune clear out of the water."

An avid composer and arranger, Patrick wrote music for all three of Break of Reality's original albums, and the arrangements for the band’s “Covers” album. His original songs are streamed over 20 million times a year, and his music has been featured in national television programs, including Dateline NBC and America’s Investigative Reports on PBS, the latter of which went on to win an Emmy. In 2012, Patrick wrote his first major composition in classical form, a "Concerto for 3 Cellos, Percussion & Orchestra", which Break of Reality premiered in the U.S. with the Laredo Philharmonic Orchestra, and in South America with the Brazilian Symphony Orchestra.

Patrick is also a prominent voice in the commercial music world, having written articles featured in many online and print outlets, including Billboard Magazine and Resolution Magazine. He has been interviewed for a number of respected publications, including The New York Times, Forbes Magazine, Rolling Stone, and Strings Magazine.

While employed full-time by Break of Reality and Brooklyn Duo, Patrick still performs classical music on a regular basis. Most notably, he performed Brahms "Sextet #1" in Carnegie Hall with Ida Kavafian and gave an all-Chopin recital at Caramoor, a prestigious music series in Katonah, NY.

Patrick received his Bachelor's degree in performance at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY, as a pupil of Steven Doane.  Upon graduation, Patrick was awarded the prestigious Performer's Certificate.