Kevin Olusola

“With social media, if you have a viral video people can like what you do and it's homegrown and very organic.”

“I don't even want to say I'm trying to necessarily popularize classical music, I just want to take this thing, this cello, this sound, and make it artistic so people can understand it today.”

“I have played Yamaha instruments since I was young, specifically their alto saxophones, and I have always appreciated their top-notch quality when it comes to making instruments.”

“For me, it's classical music I started with and I admire Jacqueline du Pre.”

“From my situation as an African American person in the U.S., people may look at me and think a certain thing without getting to know me. I'm of Nigerian and Caribbean heritage. I went to Yale. What you see is not what you think you're getting.”

“Yeah, I would go to New England Conservatory a lot. My orchestra teacher ran a program for minority students there.”

“I never thought that I would pursue a cappella music. I went to Yale College and I was going to go into the medical field.”

“Work extremely hard, but as you continue to rise up the ladder, never forget your roots or where you came from or the people that helped you along the way. Humility takes people the farthest.”

“My original plan was to be a surgeon.”

“I grew up in Kentucky, and went to boarding school outside Boston at Phillips Academy Andover for two years.”

“Christmas and a cappella - what we learned really, really well is that they go extremely well together.”

“We didn't really have a fan base to begin with. We kind of had one with 'The Sing-Of,' but it was relatively small.”

“We can watch videos of our whole journey - from old tours to doing the AMAs (American Music Awards) in 2013 and through the 'Star Wars' medley or when we sang with Stevie Wonder on the Grammys. I just sit back and say, 'I can't believe we did all this!'”

“I was actually going to go to a conservatory after I graduated college, now I'm thankful that Pentatonix happened because I'm working with singers in this realm of mainstream music, and to learn about how all that comes together has really helped my cello playing.”

“I think being part of Pentatonix has helped my arrangement style a lot, and that's helped me expand myself.”

“If I'm fulfilled mentally, spiritually, and physically by my daily activities and I'm constantly striving to grow by living out of my comfort zone, then I am successful.”

“My parents always wanted me to do music because they thought it was such a great extracurricular activity but we never thought it was going to be something that would be my career.”

“The reason immigrants come to America is to provide their kids with opportunities, but when they say 'opportunity,' they mean a prestigious job and career. When I had the epiphany that I could do music and sustain myself, they were like, 'OK, son, we need to talk to you.'”

“Well, my parents live in Cambridge, Maryland.”

“Uh, I think so many things have happened in the mainstream that definitely brought awareness and attention to a cappella. The 'Pitch Perfect' movies, 'The Sing-Off' - I mean, the college a cappella scene definitely has become really hot, which is definitely wonderful.”