Yo-Yo Ma WORLD S GREATEST LIVING CELLIST ALEXANDER M SMITH Thursday, March 4, 2010 5:57:57 PM ET
"I think that in today's world no one grows up listening to one music. Part of being alive in this world is knowing who you are and how you fit in the rest of the world. I m certainly interested in what the rest of the world thinks and feels and how they want to express themselves in sound." Yo-Yo Ma "Every time I open a newspaper, I am reminded that we live in a world where we can no longer afford not to know our neighbors." Yo-Yo Ma CONTENTS Political, Social, and Economic Chart... Summary... Timeline... Embedded Technology... Citations/Bibliography... Yo Yo Ma plays his Luis and Clark Cello, made of carbon ALEXANDER fiber. M SMITH Thursday, March 4, 2010 5:57:57 PM ET Page 2
Social, Economic, and Political Chart Yo Yo Ma (right) performs at the inauguration ceremony of President Barack Obama. SOCIAL ECONOMIC POLITICAL 1.Strongly committed to educational programs that bring young audiences into the world of music. 2.Recently released a new CD "Songs of Joy and Peace", with the purpose of celebrating universal and international hopes, dreams and good cheer of holidays as they are celebrated in other cultures. 3.Conducts masterclasses and performances to connect music to young musicians so that music and creativity will be a part of their lives from a young age. 4.Part of Ma's worldwide appeal is his ability to communicate with the audience warmly and in an engaging manner when he is performing. 1.Has performed at the World Economic Forum in 2008, which was held in Switzerland. 2. Regularly performs at charity events to raise money for community fundraisers and others in need. 3.Yo-Yo Ma has recorded over 75 CD's, 15 of which have won Grammy awards. 4.He collaborated with John Williams on the original score for the 2005 film Memoirs of a Geisha. 1.Yo Yo Ma was named Peace Ambassador to the United Nations in 2006 by the Secretary Kofi Annan. 2. Founded the Silk Road Project, the mission of which was to bring together musicians from many diverse countries. 3.Appointed by Barack Obama to serve on the President's Committee of Arts and Humanities. 4.Appointed a CultureConnect Ambassador by the U.S. Department of State, which allowed him to meet and teach students in other countries. 5. Attended Harvard University to obtain a degree in Humanities, because he felt the diversity there Page 3 opened up possibilities not available at a music conservatory. 5. One of his cello's is worth $2.5 million dollars (he once left it in the back of a taxicab in New York City, but later recovered it undamaged). 5.Performed at the Inauguration of President Barack Obama in January 2009.
Summary of Accomplishments Music In The Eyes of Yo-Yo Ma: Music speaks what cannot be expressed, soothes the mind and gives it rest, heals the heart and makes it whole, flows from heaven to the soul. Yo-Yo Ma, a French-born American cellist, brought this generic definition of music to whole new level. His frequent collaborations with musicians and artists from other genres and media reinvigorated classical music and expanded its audience. Ma believes that music is a way to express oneself, finding their identity in a very diverse world, I think that in today s world no one grows up listening to one music. Part of being alive in this world is knowing who you are and how you fit in the rest of the world. I m certainly interested in what the rest of the world thinks and feels and how they want to express themselves in sound. (The Silk Road Project) Early Life: The Birth of a Musical Prodigy Yo-Yo Ma was considered a musical prodigy, in other words, a musical genius. His father, Hiao-Tsuin Ma, recognized his son s talent and started him immediately on his musical career as a cellist. Yo-Yo was expected to memorize two measures of the Six Bach Suites for the Unaccompanied Cello each day.(worth 9) Little did he know that the music he was memorizing would later win him a Grammy Award. Ma made his first debut in the prestigious Carnegie Hall in 1971, performing the Bach suites.(worth 37) In 1985, he won his first Grammy award from his recordings of the Six Unaccompanied Bach Cello Suites, which have the reputation as one of the most difficult, but beautiful pieces of music ever composed for the cello. In total, Yo-Yo Ma has won sixteen total Grammy Awards, his latest being from his new album, songs for peace and joy. Out of 75 of his albums, 15 of them are Grammy Award Winners. Transformation of Music: Yo-Yo Ma transformed music and brought music to a completely new level that was not yet discovered. Ma's versatility among music genres and his large repertoire separate him from many other cellists. Yo-Yo Ma brought music to a new level by being able to express the emotions and feelings that the composer was trying to send out through the music being performed. From the first movement of suite no. 1 of the Bach suites, Yo-Yo Ma describes the prelude to open "like light becoming stronger," and the he feels that he is out in nature while playing it.(worth 9) Suite No. 3 is considered "the most popular of all," according to David Blum. Ma interprets this suite to be "noble and exuberant." Suite No. 4, for Ma, is " the most profound of all the suites.(worth 11) It expresses the sadness felt be the composer. In conclusion of the Six Suites for Cello composed by Bach, Suite No. 6 "is exalted, and celebrates the glory of life."(worth 11) When Yo-Yo Ma performs, he is absorbed into the music he is playing and through his body language, he is able to vividly portray the emotions of the song being performed. The Silk Road Project and Yo-Yo Ma's Grand Goal as a Musician Notified as a child prodigy, Yo-Yo Ma made a shocking decision to expand his education at Harvard University, majoring in humanities. After graduating Harvard University in 1976, Ma felt the growing desire to unite cultures all over the world.(the Silk Road Project) By 1998, Yo-Yo Ma established the Silk Road Project to promote his goal of uniting cultures over the world, Every time I open a newspaper, I am reminded that we live in a world where we can no longer afford not to know our neighbors. He wanted to expand the exploration of music as means of communication as a vessel for the migrations of ideas across a range of cultures throughout the world, and through the Silk Road Project, he was able to accomplish his goal.(the Silk Road Project) To Conclude: Yo-Yo Ma is respected as one of the finest cellists all over the world. His collaborations with other musicians enabled him to reinvigorate classical music and expand its audience greatly. Ma acknowledges that having versatility within foreign music genres make a musician that much better. Not only was Yo-Yo Ma a very accomplished cellist through his many Grammy Awards, he also was a man he sought to unify different cultures together. Through the Silk Road Project, Yo-Yo Ma was able to do so, gathering musicians all over the world to collaborate together and perform. Page 4
Timeline and Citations/Bibliography Bibliography/Citations Worth, Richard. Yo-Yo Ma. New York: Infobase Publishing, 2007. Print. The Silk Road Project Inc. "Yo-Yo Ma." The Silkroad Project. N.p., 2010. Web. 28 Feb. 2010. <http://www.silkroadproject.org/musicartists/silkroadensemble/ PerformersComposersTabbed/YoYoMa/tabid/197/Default.aspx>. The Silkroad Project Inc. "The Silk Road Project: Mission and Vision." The Silk Road Project. N.p., 2010. Web. 27 Feb. 2010. <http://www.silkroadproject.org/aboutus/missionvision/tabid/195/ Default.aspx>. http://i.telegraph.co.uk/telegraph/multimedia/archive/01245/inauguration_music_1245705c.jpg http://www.silkroadproject.org/portals/0/uploads/images/dsc_7293_3_resize.jpg http://www.scientificamerican.com/media/inline/carbon-fiber-cellos_1.jpg http://ucommxsrv1.unl.edu/downloadables/photo/20090403ma2.jpg Page 5 Audio Source: Ma, Yo-Yo. "Suite No. 1 for Violoncello Solo in G Major BWV 1009." Bach: The Cello Suites. Sony BMG Music Entertainment, 1997. MP3 file.