Yo-Yo Ma is a French-born Chinese-American cellist. He was born in Paris and spent his schooling years in New York City and was a child prodigy, performing from the age of four and a half. He graduated from the Juilliard School and Harvard University and has enjoyed a prolific career as both a soloist performing with orchestras around the world and a recording artist. He has recorded more than 90 albums and received 18 Grammy Awards.
In addition to recordings of the standard classical repertoire, he has recorded a wide variety of folk music such as American bluegrass music, traditional Chinese melodies, the tangos of Argentinian composer Ástor Piazzolla, and Brazilian music. He has also collaborated with Grammy Award-winning jazz singer Bobby McFerrin, as well as five-time Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter and guitarist James Taylor.
Ma's primary performance instrument is a Montagnana cello crafted in 1733 and valued at US$2.5 million.
He has been a United Nations Messenger of Peace since 2006.He was awarded the National Medal of Arts in 2001, Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2011, and Polar Music Prize in 2012.
National Public Radio's Weekend Edition Sunday Jan. 14, 2007, NPR, 2009-02-03 http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6835078,
