Yo-Yo Ma

Yo-Yo Ma is an American cellist who began cello lessons with his father at four and was considered a child prodigy. After moving to Boston at seven, he attended the Juilliard School and later Harvard. He has played as a soloist with orchestras worldwide, recorded more than 92 albums, and won 20 Grammy Awards. His repertoire extends beyond classical music to folk, bluegrass, Chinese melodies, tangos by Astor Piazzolla, and Brazilian music, and he has collaborated with artists including Bobby McFerrin, Carlos Santana, James Taylor, and Sting. He formed the Silk Road Ensemble and founded Silk Road Connect, an educational program for middle-school students. He contributed to the soundtracks of Seven Years in Tibet (1997) and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000), and appeared as himself in Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022). Among his awards are the Avery Fisher Prize, the National Medal of Arts, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and Kennedy Center Honors.