Yo-Yo Ma: cellist and one of the most important classical musicans of this era

Yo-Yo Ma - World Economic Forum Annual Meeting Davos 2008
Originally uploaded by World Economic Forum

Yo-Yo Ma (born October 7, 1955) is a French-born Chinese-American[1] virtuoso cellist and composer and winner of multiple Grammy Awards, says Wikipedia. He is one of the most revered cello players of the 20th and 21st centuries.[2] He is also a highly accomplished musician on the piano, viola, and violin.

Ma was a prodigy, beginning cello at age 4. He studied at the Juilliard School of Music with Leonard Rose and attended Columbia University before ultimately enrolling at Harvard University.

Ma currently plays with his own Silk Road Ensemble, which has the goal of bringing together musicians from diverse countries all of which are historically linked via the Silk Road, and records on the Sony Classical label.

He has recorded over 75 albums, 15 of which are Grammy Award winners. Among his stellar performances across the world: he played for the Barack Obama inauguration.

His recordings and performances of the Johann Sebastian Bach: Cello Suites recorded in 1983 and again in 1994-1997 are particularly acclaimed.