For me, practicing piano had reached to a point where I could only progress on sight-reading slowly to zero. I wanted to be able to play pieces that I like right off the music sheet. So it was the time for me to switch to an instrument on which you only play one staff line. Cello still is not an instrument of instant gratification, learning it requires time and patience.
My interest in cello, I think, started out with this scene from The Pianist. Before the scene, the main character experiences some tragic events, but when he wakes up to Bach prelude he feels as though he can continue life afresh. Cello has such a warmth that it can transfer your feelings from despair to hope.
I rented my first cello from Long & McQuade and took lessons at Renaissance School of the Arts. I rented my second cello from Berndt & Marx and took lessons in Städtische Musikschule Chemnitz.