Biography (read more)
Yo-Yo Ma (b. 1955, Paris, to Chinese parents) began cello at age four under his father’s instruction and was performing publicly as a child prodigy by five; he studied at the Juilliard School under Leonard Rose and earned an anthropology degree from Harvard University in 1976. He has performed as soloist with orchestras worldwide, recorded more than 90 albums, and received 20 Grammy Awards, with a repertoire spanning core classical works alongside bluegrass, Chinese, Argentine tango, and Brazilian traditions. In 1998 he founded the Silk Road Ensemble, bringing together musicians from countries along the historic Silk Road trade routes to create new cross-cultural repertoire. He has collaborated across genres with artists including Bobby McFerrin and Carlos Santana.
Ma is one of the most celebrated cellists in history and a leading advocate for cross-cultural musical collaboration, recognized with the Presidential Medal of Freedom (2011), Kennedy Center Honors (2011), and the Glenn Gould Prize (1999).
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