Who is Yo-Yo Ma?

World renounced Cello Player Born in France to Chinese parents in 1955. Child prodigy; played Carnegie hall at age

9. Studied at Julliard and Harvard. Honorary

PhD from Harvard. Won 15 Grammys, many musical awards

and is a cultural connect ambassador for the US.

Started a nonprofit organization called: The Silk Road Project.

If you haven’t heard Yo-yo Ma…..

You can hear his music right now! Turn up your volume & click the speaker phone to the left

Or…..

Here’s some samples of his music:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elm16AXW_sE&feature=fvst

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXSqZAEOn2c

The Silk Road Project http://www.Silkroadproject.org

Started in 1998 by Yo-Yo Ma.

Mission:

“Inspired by the cultural traditions of the historical Silk Road, the Silk Road Project is a catalyst promoting innovation and learning through the arts. Our vision is to connect the world’s neighborhoods by bringing together artists and audiences around the globe.”

Three faucets of the Silk Road Project:

•Silk Road Ensemble• Silk Road Connect• SPICE

What is the “Silk Road” ? “The Silk Road” is not just ONE road, rather, it is a series

of roads that became an ancient trading route, coming to the height of its activity during the Tang Dynasty, around 740 AD.

The trade road stretched from China to the Mediterranean, approximately 7,000 miles.

The Silk Road wasn’t just for transporting silk; medicine, religion, science and culture transcended these trade routes as well.

Religion, music and instruments spread in popularity along the trade route, bringing Buddhism from India to China, as well as bringing Christianity along too, from foreign traders on the route.

By 740 AD the trade on the Silk Road had declined. Today there are still over 45,000 murals, 2,000 statues

and a plethora of religion and art with an Indian influence remain.

Silk Road EnsembleConsists of professional orchestra members

who represent 20 different countries!

• Together they create music and travel across the North America, Europe, and Asia

• 5 albums total, winning world recognition.

•Play and expose audiences to instruments that would have been played along the silk road, including (but not limited to) ……

KamanchehMorin KhuurPipa

Silk Road Connect

Yo-yo Ma & the Silk Road Ensemble interacts with underserved middle and high school students in the New York City area to help them move past music theory to self expression through music.

SPICE aka: Stanford Program on International CrossCultural Education

Provides teachers with lesson plans about the historyof the Silk Road, Silk Road Project and incorporating

music into classrooms.

Download lesson plans here!