Yo-Yo Ma

@Cellist, Family and Childhood

Yo-Yo Ma is a renowned French-born Chinese American cellist and songwriter

Oct 7, 1955

FrenchMusiciansLibra Celebrities
Biography

Personal Details

  • Birthday: October 7, 1955
  • Nationality: French
  • Famous: Cellist, Musicians
  • Spouses: Jill Hornor (m. 1978)
  • Siblings: Yeou-Cheng Ma
  • Childrens: Emily Ma, Nicholas Ma
  • Universities:
    • Harvard University
    • Juilliard School
    • Columbia University

Yo-Yo Ma born at

Paris, France

Unsplash
Birth Place

Yo-Yo Ma is married to Jill Hornor, who works as an arts consultant. The couple has two children, Nicholas and Emily.

Unsplash
Personal Life

Despite having won numerous awards, and having earned tremendous fame worldwide, he is of a quite humble nature.

Unsplash
Personal Life

Since 2006, he has been an United Nations Messenger of Peace.

Unsplash
Personal Life

Yo-Yo Ma was born on 7 October 1955, in Paris, France to Chinese parents. His mother, Marina Lu, was a singer while his father, Hiao-Tsiun Ma, was a violinist and a professor of music who taught at the Nanjing National Central University. The family moved to the USA when Yo-Yo Ma was a child.

Unsplash
Childhood & Early Life

He received a musical upbringing and started playing the violin and the piano from an early age. He learnt to play the cello when he was only four and a half.

Unsplash
Childhood & Early Life

He gained much popularity as a child prodigy because of his remarkable talents. He performed for Presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy when he was only seven. He made his first television appearance as an eight year old.

Unsplash
Childhood & Early Life

He graduated from the Professional Children’s School at the age of fifteen. Then he studied at the Julliard School, and later attended Columbia University. However, he soon dropped out and entered Harvard College. He graduated in 1976. Fifteen years later, he also received an honorary doctorate from his alma mater.

Unsplash
Childhood & Early Life

Yo-Yo Ma wanted to begin his career right after receiving his bachelor’s degree. However it was delayed for some months as he had to undergo surgery for scoliosis. Fortunately, the surgery was a success and he was able to begin his career soon after. Blessed with extraordinary musical skills, he gained much popularity before long.

Unsplash
Career

His amazing talents as a cellist attracted many contemporary composers and he gained numerous commissions. Quite often, he also performed as part of a trio, with pianist Emanuel Ax and violinist Young-Uck Kim. For their recordings of the sonatas of Ludwig Van Beethoven and Johannes Brahms, they earned a lot of appreciation.

Unsplash
Career

On July 5th, 1986, Yo-Yo Ma performed on the New York Philharmonic's tribute to the 100th anniversary of the Statue of Liberty, which was one of the most significant performances in his career.

Unsplash
Career

Throughout his career, he has produced numerous albums. Some of his early works are ‘Great Cello Concertos’ (1989), ‘Made in America’ (1993) and ‘Soul of the Tango: The Music of Astor Piazzolla’ (1997).

Unsplash
Career

Yo-Yo Ma founded the Silk Road Project in 1998 to encourage collaboration among artists and institutions. He saw it as a means to “promote multicultural artistic collaboration”. According to its website, the project aims to connect the world’s neighborhoods by bringing together both artists and audience from around the world. Currently, it is affiliated to Harvard University.

Unsplash
Career

Yo-Yo Ma has composed soundtracks for several films. ‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon’ which was released in the year 2000, can be regarded the most important movie he has ever worked in. The film, which was directed by Ang Lee, was a huge hit. It was nominated for ten Oscars, out of which it won seven. It also did well commercially, grossing more than $200 million dollars on a budget of $17 million.

Unsplash
Major Works

’The Goat Rodeo Sessions’ is Yo-Yo Ma’s most recent album, on which he collaborated with Stuart Duncan, Edgar Meyer, and Chris Thile. The album included tracks such as ‘Quarter Chicken Dark’ and ‘Where’s My Bow?’ It debuted at No. 23 on the US Billboard 200, and No. 1 on the Classical as well as the Classical Crossover charts. It did well commercially and eventually won two Grammys as well.

Unsplash
Major Works