31 Facts About Yo-Yo Ma

Yo-Yo Ma was born on October 7,1955 and is a French-born American cellist.

Yo-Yo Ma has performed as a soloist with orchestras around the world, recorded more than 92 albums, and received 19 Grammy Awards.

Yo-Yo Ma has collaborated with artists from a diverse range of genres, including Bobby McFerrin, Carlos Santana, Chris Botti, Diana Krall, James Taylor, Miley Cyrus, Zakir Hussain, and Sting.

Yo-Yo Ma has received numerous awards, including the Avery Fisher Prize in 1978, The Glenn Gould Prize in 1999, the National Medal of Arts in 2001, the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2011, Kennedy Center Honors in 2011, the Polar Music Prize in 2012, and the Birgit Nilsson Prize in 2022.

Yo-Yo Ma was named as one of Times 100 Most Influential People of 2020.

Yo-Yo Ma began performing before audiences at age five and played for presidents Dwight D Eisenhower and John F Kennedy when he was seven.

Yo-Yo Ma appeared as a soloist with the Harvard Radcliffe Orchestra in a performance of Tchaikovsky's Rococo Variations.

Yo-Yo Ma spent four summers at the Marlboro Music Festival after meeting and falling in love with Mount Holyoke College sophomore and festival administrator Jill Hornor during his first summer there in 1972.

Yo-Yo Ma has played chamber music, often with pianist Emanuel Ax, with whom he has a close friendship from their days at Juilliard.

Yo-Yo Ma collaborated with Williams again on the score for the 2005 film Memoirs of a Geisha.

Yo-Yo Ma has worked with Italian composer Ennio Morricone and has recorded Morricone's compositions of the Dollars Trilogy, including The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, as well as Once Upon a Time in America, The Mission, and The Untouchables.

Yo-Yo Ma has recorded over 90 albums, 19 of which are Grammy Award winners.

Yo-Yo Ma received the Award of Excellence from New York's International Center.

Yo-Yo Ma is a founding member of the influential Chinese-American Committee of 100, which addresses the concerns of Americans of Chinese heritage.

Yo-Yo Ma's music was featured in the 2010 documentary Jews and Baseball: An American Love Story, narrated by Academy Award winner Dustin Hoffman.

Yo-Yo Ma launched the Citizen Musician initiative partnership in partnership with the orchestra's music director, Riccardo Muti.

Yo-Yo Ma's goal was to bring together musicians from diverse countries that were historically linked via the Silk Road.

Yo-Yo Ma founded the Silk Road Connect, an educational pilot program for children from middle schools in the United States, including New York City.

Yo-Yo Ma has been referred to by critics as "omnivorous" and possesses an eclectic repertoire.

Yo-Yo Ma released a cello recording of Niccolo Paganini's Caprice No 24 for solo violin and Zoltan Kodaly's Solo Sonata.

Yo-Yo Ma performed a special arrangement of Sting's "Fragile" with Sting and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir in the opening ceremonies of the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Yo-Yo Ma appeared as a Pennington Great Performers series artist with the Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra in 2005.

Yo-Yo Ma performed John Williams's "Air and Simple Gifts" at the first inauguration of Barack Obama on January 20,2009, along with Itzhak Perlman, Gabriela Montero, and Anthony McGill.

Yo-Yo Ma said that his interest in astronomy motivated him to visit and perform there.

Yo-Yo Ma made five appearances on Sesame Street, all of which first aired during the show's 17th season in 1986.

Yo-Yo Ma appeared in The Simpsons episode "Puffless", where he played a serenade and theme music.

Yo-Yo Ma starred in the visual accompaniment to his recordings of Bach's Six Suites for Unaccompanied Cello.

Yo-Yo Ma was one of the show's guests on November 1,2011, where he performed songs from the album The Goat Rodeo Sessions with musicians Stuart Duncan, Edgar Meyer and Chris Thile.

Yo-Yo Ma performed several of Bach's cello suites for the 2012 film Bill W On October 5,2015, he appeared on Colbert's new program, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, in support of ballerina Misty Copeland, and prematurely celebrating his 60th birthday.

Yo-Yo Ma revealed that his career in music felt like a "gift" after scoliosis threatened his ability to play in his 20s.

Yo-Yo Ma has recorded in non-classical styles, notably in collaboration with artists such as Bobby McFerrin, Carlos Santana, Chris Botti, Chris Thile, Diana Krall, James Taylor, Miley Cyrus and Sting.