Yo-Yo Ma Childhood

Yo-Yo Ma is a Chinese-American who was born in Paris, France in 1955. Ma’s parents were both musical, with his father being a violinist and his mother a singer.

At only three years old, Ma learned to play the violin and viola. Under the direction of his father, Ma became a fluid violinist. Around the age of 5, he began to beg for a much larger instrument to play. Had he been left alone to select an instrument, he would have chosen to play the double bass. Of course, his parents knew the bass would be much too large for Ma to play, so he compromised, and decided upon a cello. It was very difficult for Ma’s parents to find a small enough cello for him to play upon, so Ma had to learn to play a viola with an endpin to simulate a cello.

When Ma was seven, he and his parents moved to New York City, where Ma started his career as a child prodigy. He

Rejecting lessons in technique, he continued to perfect his own way of “pulling” the strings of his cello. In 1976, he received his Bachelor’s Degree from Harvard.

Shortly after joining Harvard, Yo-Yo ma received the Avery Fisher Prize, awarded to American musicians who show extraordinary classical music talent. Since then, Ma has grasped many other Prizes, including 15 Grammy Awards. In 1991, Harvard awarded him with an honorary music doctorate. An honorary doctorate degree is an academic degree in which a university waives the usual requirements, such as being enrolled, being in residence, studying, or passing examinations at the college. The degree often is an honor bestowed upon distinguished visitors’ contributions in specific areas of study or just general society.

As Ma proceeded into his career, he was hired for a great many soundtracks and other musical works. Just a few include:

• John Williams’ soundtrack to Seven Years in