Nothing pleases Zuill Bailey more than turning people on to his music.

Whether the 35-year-old is “zigzagging around the world” playing the cello with some of the world’s best orchestras or appearing, literally, as a killer cellist on television, it’s all about the music, he says.

This weekend, Bailey and a couple of his musicmaking friends will team up with members of the Napa Valley Symphony Orchestra for a special chamber concert in Yountville’s Lincoln Theater.

For his third appearance under the auspices of the Napa Valley Symphony Orchestra, Bailey and friends will performs works by Brahms, Handel and Tchaikovsky.

Coming to the valley with Bailey will be violinist Giora Schmidt, violist Carla Maria Rodrigues and pianist Orion Weiss. Joining them will be Napa Valley Symphony Orchestra concertmaster/violinist Yasushi Ogura, violist Meg Tichener and cellist Robin Bonnell.

Bailey is coming here from his home in El Paso, Texas, where at the moment he’s producing the ProMusica Chamber Music Festival — a 33-event festival that, for the most part, takes place in January. Following his weekend performances here, he’s off on a concert tour that takes him to places as distant as Honolulu and Lima, Peru.

The name Zuill (pronounced “Zool”) is Scotch-Irish, and was actually his family's surname a few hundred years ago, Bailey is quick to point out.

Growing up in northern Virginia, he became interested in the cello at the age of 4. Both of his parents are musicians — his mother is a pianist and his father has his doctorate in both music and education. A slightly older sister is a violinist.

Speaking by phone the other day from his Texas home, Bailey talked about his unortodox role on the groundbreaking HBO drama series, “Oz.”

He said the show’s creators wanted to produce a series detailing “what prisons are all about,” but without the stringent regulations of commercial television.

“Oz,” he says, “is incredibly raw ... This was a groundbreaking effort for cable TV because it came well before ‘The Sopranos.’”

Asked to play a role on one of the early episodes, Bailey said his love of music and effort to make the cello “more accessible” prompted him to accept. “I was asked to play a cellist, to play the instrument I do indeed play, and I thought it would be an opportunity to have more public exposure.

“I saw it as outreach ... to show the world the beauty of the cello. But to get into prison I had to do horrible things. My transgression was harpooning a violinist backstage with my cello.

“Today, I am still recognized because of that initial appearance, as well as a few appearances I have made on TV playing my cello.”

Since his character was killed early on in a prison riot, Bailey never thought he’d be reappearing on “Oz.”

“But in the sixth season, they brought back the favorites as ghosts ... I narrated the show with my music. The episode was called ‘Sonata da Oz.’ I arranged the music ... the underscore of the show is me playing my cello.”

Lovin’ El Paso

The world-traveling cellist plays more than 200 engagements around the globe annually. “I get to see the world, that’s true, but I can’t wait to get home,” he confides.

Bailey’s been living in El Paso since 2001. His wife is a sculptor and had an opportunity to work in the west Texas region, so the Baileys relocated to El Paso. “I love this area, especially since I am now the artistic director of the ProMusic Chamber Music Festival. Because I am gone so much, it really doesn’t matter (to anyone else) where I call home.”

He talks about the pleasure of teaming up with other musicians on the road to bring music to the masses. He is looking forward to returning to wine country this week. “Napa Valley is a special place and I have close friends there.

“There’s an unexplainable joy that music brings to all of us. For me, it’s playing with new partners or with orchestras or chamber ensembles.

“The unknown is exciting ... I walk onto the stage as curious as the audience is ... (because) a concert is spontaneous. Music is social, it’s contagious, it evokes different emotions.

“When I play (the cello), I can’t think of a happier time than that very moment. If you’re head-over-heels (in love with music) like I am, you don’t have a choice. This is why I do what I do. Every day, this process keeps me going.”

In a few months, Bailey will show us another aspect of his talents. He’s recorded Tchaikovsky and Shostakovich cello concertos with the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra. It will be released by summer.

Napa Valley Symphony

Oct. 2, 8 pm., Oct. 3 3 p.m.

Lincoln Theater, Yountville

Tickets, $12.50-$60

Box office, 226-8742, www.napavalleysymphony.org