Yo-Yo Ma is one of the most famous cellists in the world. He is Chinese-American but was born in Paris. He started playing music at just four-years-old and went on to attend and graduate from the prestigious schools, Julliard School in New York, and Harvard University in Cambridge, MA.
His successful career and incredible talent on the cello has allowed him to play with many impressive orchestras around the world. He is also known for his advocacy work in trying to bridge communities with different cultures and helped them come together to learn from and celebrate each other. He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom award, which is the highest civilian award in the U.S., in 2011. He has also won 19 Grammy Awards as of Apr. 2019, for his work in music. He started his own non-profit organization, Silkroad, in 1998 and it promotes collaborations between artists and institutions and multicultural artistic exchange.
