Yo-Yo Ma

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Yo-Yo MA

Yo-Yo Ma (马友友) is the famous Chinese American cellist best known for his versatility in composing a variety of music which comprises of salient ethnic flavors - many of which eventually turn out to be award-winning works.

At the 2011 Beijing Sino-US Forum on the Arts and Culture, he referred to himself as being a man of the world, with his preferred peaceful haven being Brazil.

At that time, his cooperation with Charles "Lil Buck" Riley, a famous contemporary dancer, had been very popular online even before they both joined the forum.

Born in Paris on Oct. 7, 1955, to a musical family, his father was a Ningbo native, Zhejiang, with a Ph.D. in musical education. His mother was a singer who had graduated from the National Central University established during the late Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). Even before the age of four, Ma had already picked up his first violin.

At four-years-old, he began to practice the piano and cello. His first public debut was at the age of five. When he was seven, his family moved from Paris to New York, a place that - as he recalled during the forum - proved a big culture shock to him as even the cheese there tasted different.

He met Leonard Bernstein, the famous composer from Massachusetts, when he was merely eight. Under Bernstein and his friend’s guidance, Ma and his elder sister took to the stage of Carnegie Hall for the first time.

When he was 14, he performed as a solo cellist with the Harvard Radcliffe Orchestra to stage Peter Tchaikovsky’s "Variations on a Rococo Theme." During the ensuing seven years at the Julliard School, the globally reputed music and arts institute established in 1905 by Dr. Frank Damrosch, he excelled in his overall academic pursuit. However, he quit the school before graduating from the school and subsequently entered Harvard University, where he became famous after having played with many well-known symphonies.

During that time, his interpretation of Bach’s "Cello Suites" was turned into an album, and he also held some indoor concerts with his friend, the pianist Emanuel Ax.

He graduated from Harvard University with a bachelor’s degree in anthropology, and was in 1991 honored by the school with an emeritus Ph.D..

Upon graduation, he became a professional musician and ushered in a new personal career with diversified and innovative music comprising of both traditional and contemporary styles. Inspired by the interaction with his musical partners, including Jeffrey Kahane, Young Uck Kim, Mark Morris and Kathryn Stott, he recognized music as a common ground or language for trans-cultural communication.

In 1997, his reinterpretation of Bach received great acclaim.

In the early 2000s, he completed the so-called Silk Road Project, incorporating the distinctive styles of the music from East Asia to Europe on the ancient Silk Road, consisting of the old countries, such as India, China, Persia and Greece, after numerous visits to and research on indigenous cultural heritage.

Interested in playing more obscure compositions in the 20th century, Ma was a favorite of the contemporary composers, including Stephen Albert, Peter Lieberson and Tan Dun, who unanimously composed for him and invited him to perform their music.

He also composed the soundtracks for several films, and his melancholic music for Ang Lee’s Oscar-winning "Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon" was deemed as playing an important role in delivering the message composed of Chinese cultural elements to a western audience.

His music was one of Steve Jobs’ all-time favorites and he also performed during the inauguration of U.S. president Barack Obama on Jan. 20, 2009.

He’s also an enthusiast in the musical education for children and has joined in several kids’ programs, including "Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood" and "Sesame Street."

According to Baidu.com, he was regarded as omnivorous by music critics and considered more tolerant than many other classical musicians.