Yo-Yo Ma is a gifted and eclectic cellist known for classical and non-classical music. He has recorded over 75 albums and worked with musicians from different genres. Born in Paris to Chinese parents, he was a prodigy who studied at Juilliard and Harvard. He owns a Montagnana and a Stradivari cello and experimented with different instruments. He formed the Silk Road Orchestra to bring together different cultures and promote peace through music. Ma lives in Massachusetts with his wife and two children.
Yo-Yo Ma is probably one of the most gifted and certainly one of the most eclectic cellists in the world today. He is internationally known not only for the many classical pieces that he performs with great ease, but also for his willingness to think outside the box musically. Yo-Yo Ma has recorded over 75 albums, many of which are considered strictly classical in arrangement, while others diverge significantly from classical music. He has worked with musicians such as Bob McFerrin, Sting and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, and has explored musical forms ranging from traditional Chinese music and bluegrass to the music of the Kalahari Bush. His musical explorations, including scoring or appearing in numerous films, have brought Ma many awards and accolades.
Born to Chinese immigrant parents in Paris in 1955, Yo-Yo Ma was already a talented musician when his family moved to the United States when he was seven years old. He played violin and viola well at the age of four, before switching to the cello. One of his first performances in which he was much noticed was a 1962 performance for President John F. Kennedy. But he was certainly a prodigy, appearing on television at age eight and playing with numerous orchestras in his teens. Ma’s parents probably had a strong influence on the boy. Both were talented musicians, and Ma’s older sister is an accomplished violinist, who runs the Children’s Orchestra Society in New York with her husband.
Like many extraordinary young musicians, Yo-Yo Ma’s education included studying at the prestigious Juilliard School of Music. Unlike prodigies who follow a singular path, Ma felt he wanted to broaden his education by taking a traditional liberal arts class first at Columbia and then at Harvard University, where he graduated in 1976. He wasn’t always sure if he should continue pursuing his career as a cellist, and cites hearing the work of Pablo Casals, the famous Spanish cellist, as his inspiration to continue his studies and performances.
By the early 1980s, Yo-Yo Ma had risen to international prominence, and some of his recordings from this period, including Bach’s Cello Suites, are thought to be particularly inspired. But he also began to show a considerable interest in the possibilities of musical education for children. To that end, he has made guest appearances on shows such as Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood, Arthur and Sesame Street. He later showed his strong sense of humor playing himself in an episode of The Simpsons and appeared in The West Wing, Seinfeld and commercials for Apple® Computers.
For most of his career, Ma’s primary instrument was a Dominico Montagnana cello built in 1733. He also owns a Stradivari cello given to him by the English cellist Jacqueline du Pre, upon her death in 1987. Yo-Yo Ma didn’t play only the cello, but experimented with a variety of instruments, especially period instruments to record Baroque music and traditional instruments specific to different cultures.
In 1998, Ma formed the Silk Road Orchestra, a collection of traditional and non-traditional musicians from many places across Asia, the Middle East and Europe. His commitment to bring together the different cultures represented by the ancient Silk Road is expressed in Ma’s political position of peace through music. In 2006, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Anan named Ma an ambassador for peace.
When he’s not traveling with his orchestra or performing with other musicians around the world, Ma lives in Massachusetts with his wife, Jill Hornor. The two have been married since 1977 and have two children together.
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