Yo-Yo Ma has won 15 Grammy Awards.
Along with many classical and romantic works, Yo-Yo Ma also plays a wide variety of contemparary music, folk music, and lesser-known works.
Yo-Yo Ma plays a 1733 Montagnana cello from Venice and the 1712 Davidoff Stradivarius.
Childhood / Teenage Years:
On October 7, 1955, Yo-Yo Ma was born to Chinese parents in Paris. At the age of four he was enrolled into private cello lessons. Shortly thereafter, he and his parents moved to New York City where he began studying with Leonard Rose of the Julliard School. When his was just 15, he gained international attention when Leonard Bernstein presented him on a televised fundraising event for the Kennedy Center.
Early Adult Years:
To expand upon the knowledge he gained from Julliard, Yo-Yo Ma attended Harvard University. He graduated with a liberal arts degree in 1976. Soon after his graduation, he began his professional career.
Mid Adult Years:
Presently, Yo-Yo Ma has recorded over 50 albums with Sony Classical Music ranging from Bach’s Cello Suites to his Brazilian music crossover album. He has performed with many of the world’s leading orchestras including the New York Philharmonic, the London Symphony Orchestra, and the Berlin Philharmonic. Today, along with the many orchestral performances, solo and chamber concerts, and record making, Yo-Yo Ma manages to find time with his wife and two children as well as his Silk Road Project.