A passionate musical link between East and West, renowned concert cellist Yo-Yo Ma (1955–) was born in Paris, France, to Chinese parents. A child prodigy, by age five he could play three Bach cello suites by heart and studied with Leonard Rose at Juilliard.

“Bach takes you to a very quiet place within yourself, to the inner core, a place where you are calm and at peace,” Ma explained.

Selected as the sole winner of the Avery Fisher Prize in 1978, Ma has recorded widely, exploring an array of musical styles. His performances celebrate the heart with an almost jazz-like spontaneity.

“I think of a piece of music as something that comes alive when it is being performed, and I feel that my role in the transmission of music is to be its best advocate at that moment,” he said.

In 2001, he launched the Silk Road Project (now known as the Silkroad Ensemble) to promote the study of cultural, artistic, and intellectual traditions along Marco Polo’s trade route from Asia to Europe. With this cross-pollination of ideas, Ma hopes to create a global network of sharing to communicate something vital with music.

“The more I learn about music, the more I realize that music has always wandered across national boundaries,” he said.

“Every time I open a newspaper, I’m reminded that we can no longer afford not to know our neighbors. The Silk Road Project is a musical way to get to know our neighbors.”