Role of the Performer-- Yo-Yo Ma

 "Culture - the way we express ourselves and understand each other - can bind us together as one world." - Yo-Yo Ma

Early life and career:

 Yo-Yo Ma was born to Chinese parents Dr. Hiao-Tsiun Ma and Marina Ma on October 7, 1955 in Paris, France. Dr. Hiao-Tsiun Ma was a violinist and music professor. His mother Marina was a opera singer. Father studied at a university in Paris and worked a low-income job until he finished his education. Yo-yo's life was very difficult at this time. Yo-Yo was surrounded by music so it was very easy for him to pick up. His older sister played piano and violin. Parents played classical music for their kids often. At Age three Yo-Yo learned how to play the piano and violin. One day his father took him to the local university and he saw a double bass. At that moment Yo-Yo told his father "That's what I want to play!" He told his father that he didn't like the sound of the violin. His parents bought him a cello because a double bass was too big for three year old Yo-Yo. Mr. Ma taught Yo-Yo how to play the cello by starting him off with complicated compositions such as bach. Each lesson was short. Everyday he taught his son two measures of music but it had to be perfect. This encouraged Yo-Yo to memorize the music. "When a problem is complex, you become tense. But when you break it down... you can approach each element without stress." --Yo-Yo Ma 

 By the time Yo-Yo was five years old he could play three Bach suits by heart, and played his first recital at UPCM. In 1962 the Ma family went to the U.S. to visit a Uncle that lived in NYC. Yo-Yo and his sister played at a recital where there was a music director in the audience. The director went to Dr. Ma and offered him a job to start a children orchestra, which was Mr. Ma's dream to do such. After that the family moved to New York where the kids attended public school where they learned English. Yo-Yo and his sister played for great musicians, such as Pablo Casols, Isaac Stern. The kids also played for president Kennedy and his wife Jacqueline. When Yo-Yo was seven he studied cello with Hungarian cellest Janos Scholz. Two years later he studied with another teacher Leonard Rose. Rose taught Yo-Yo for eight years but even after many professional teachers he still gives his parents credit for his talent. "My parents taught me to believe in the soul, in that something extra, in the beauty that is in human nature." -Yo-Yo Ma.
 Yo-Yo practiced for four to five hours daily and played in many recitals that brought him into light through newspaper articles. In 1968 he took lessons on Saturdays at Juilliard School. At age thirteen his aunt invited the family to come down to California for a visit. When the family was in California the kids played in San Francisco Little Symphony. His performance earned him new fans, not only for his talent but for his charm as well. For fifteen years after college, Ma led the life of a successful classical musician.  

What makes him special and his Major hit's:

 Yo-Yo is known for his extraordinary technique and rich tone. His frequent collaborations with musicians and artists from other genres, cultures, and media reinvigorated classical music and expanded it's audience. He introduced new audiences to classical through countless TV appearances. He served as a peace ambassador for the United Nations. Yo-Yo thrilled listeners across many genres with his remarkable musicianship. That spirit of connection led him through a legendary career. Yo-Yo is about to kick off a two year tour with a concert at Red Rocks Amphitheatre. From the late 1970's through the early 1990's, Ma's recordings covered much of the standard cello repertoire. He performed in chamber music "dream teams" with the likes of violinist Jamie Laredo and pianist Emmanuel Ax. Yo-Yo also recorded the great cello concertos with orchestras like the Berlin Philharmonic, and London Symphony Orchestra. He won his first Grammy in 1984, and collected a total of 18 Grammys over the years.

Here is a video of Yo-Yo Ma and his sister playing for President JFK when he was seven.

Yo-Yo Ma- Bach: Cello Suite No. 1 in G Major, Prelude.

Yo-Yo's contributions: 

 The videos above show his incredible skill set. First I would like to recognize his amazing vibrato technique. Vibrato is hard to master so I have been told by many people who play violin and bass. Vibrato is when you rock your hand back and forth while playing string instruments, creating a wavering pitch. Secondly I would like to point out how well he plays complicated compositions that many musicians struggle to play. Ma plays after people like Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, and Elgar. Not only does Ma play these compositions by heart he shows a variety of techniques that shows off his talent. Ma uses techniques like portamento, expressive intonation, and rhythm. His dynamics are also on point. In the video where he plays Cello Suite No. 1 in G Major he plays it in medium forte (mf) but still puts in subtle variety to make it more lively. The tempo of the song is played around 72 per quarter and his broken chords are played steady.
 Yo-Yo Ma is a truly talented celloist who's music continues to inspires many people. 

Citations: 

Olmstead, M. (2006) Yo-Yo Ma. Chicago: Raintree.

Weesner, M. (2018) 8 reasons we love Yo-Yo Ma: Scenes from an amazing musical life, Colorado Public Radio. Available at: https://www.cpr.org/2018/07/30/8-reasons-we-love-yo-yo-ma-scenes-from-an-amazing-musical-life/ (Accessed: 06 November 2024).

Yo-Yo Ma (2024) Encyclopedia Britannica. Available at: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Yo-Yo-Ma (Accessed: 06 November 2024).

Yo-Yo Ma (2024a) Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yo-Yo_Ma (Accessed: 06 November 2024).