YO-YO MA - 50 American Heroes Every Kid Should Meet

YO-YO MA

October 7, 1955 -

Music. It's almost everywhere. You dance to it, march to it, worship with it, celebrate with it…and many of you make it -- you are musicians. Meet one of the world's greatest musicians - Yo-Yo Ma.

Can you remember what you were doing when you were five years old? Yo-Yo Ma was giving his first public cello recital. That's right, at the age you were finger-painting in kindergarten, he was playing an instrument in front of an audience. A cello, by the way, is a stringed instrument, larger than a violin but smaller than a string bass.

Yo-Yo Ma has become a world famous ambassador for classical music. He travels everywhere and plays with great orchestras and other famous musicians. He has made over 45 albums. Thirteen of them have been honored with Grammy awards.

He is always trying to find new and different ways to reach more people with classical music. In the early 1990's, Yo-Yo Ma teamed up with Bobby McFerran for a pretty unusual performance in Boston. McFerran is a jazz musician who uses his voice as an instrument. The pair teamed up with the Boston Philharmonic and put together a concert of all kinds of music -- classic, fun, mournful and lighthearted. And Yo-Yo Ma doesn't think classical music is just for grown-ups either. He has taken his cello to Sesame Street and Mister Rogers' Neighborhood. Maybe you saw him there when you were little. Whenever he goes on a concert tour, he schedules time to teach students, both musicians and non-musicians. He also encourages young people to create music, and he teaches them how. This is what Yo-Yo does. He loves music so much that he wants to share it with the world.

POWER WORDS!

"I just want to take music to wherever it can go, to people who are open."
- Yo-Yo Ma

Music can build bridges of understanding between cultures. In many ways, it is the truest international language. We can enjoy a song even if we don't understand the words. Yo-Yo Ma's talents are so special because each time he draws his bow across the strings of his cello, he reaches across cultures, across generations, across types of music. He makes music universal. Pop a Yo-Yo Ma CD into a boom box. As you listen to his extraordinary playing, think of the many types of music you probably have never listened to. Then go look for some. We want you to explore music from other cultures. You may be able to do it on your computer. Or you can borrow CD's from your local library or your school's music teacher. Or ask your friends who have a different cultural background to share their music.

Then listen. Really listen. Why? Because appreciating the music of others helps you to appreciate them as well. Understanding and tolerance begins by learning to see that "different is okay." Different music - from whatever culture - is okay, just different. Different people - from whatever culture - are OK, just different. Simple.

So begin letting Yo-Yo Ma's beautiful music lead you to be more accepting of everybody's music. And of everybody.

DIVE IN!

Yo-Yo Ma: Internationally Acclaimed Cellist by Myra Weatherly (Capstone Press, 2007), 24 pages.