A 23-year-old artist and student at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music had his creativity silenced when a couple allegedly stole his cello from the school.

San Francisco police say it happened Sunday while the campus was open for a concert.

There is surveillance video of a well-dressed couple searching the building and leaving with the cello. The couple, police said, allegedly stole it out of Adam Young's unlocked locker.

Young is devastated: "It's priceless to me it's the object that encompasses my soul."

Young needs the cello for school, for work and for sharing his creative voice.

The instrument is a handmade Bubenreuth worth thousands of dollars. But for Young it is worth so much more.

View images take from the security camera here.