By India McCarty
For famed cellist Yo-Yo Ma, one of his proudest accomplishments is connecting with children on their level.
“To this day, if people ask, ‘Well, you’ve done a lot of things in your life, you’ve lived a long, long time, what are you proud of?’” he told BBC Radio 3. “I would always say that one of the things I’m actually really proud of is appearing on those [children’s] shows.”
Ma continued, “And why? Because when you appear as a guest on a child’s show, the way that my grandchildren are now watching BLUEY, you are in their space, in their territory. And if they accept you, it’s for keeps.”
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The cellist has appeared on many children’s shows, including several appearances on SESAME STREET, as well as PBS’ PINKALICIOUS & PETERRIFIC.
Ma has also shared his love of music through books for children, like Sandra Boynton’s “Jungle Night.” He teamed up with Boynton for a video of the book that included his cello-playing.
“I’ve done soundtracks, but not for books. So this is the very first time that I did a soundtrack for a book, which is very exciting,” he told Time. “It’s Sandy Boynton who thought up the idea [of] the specific sounds that the animals would make in ‘Jungle Night,’ and then I would try to match [them] on the cello.”
He continued, “I think the exciting part was working with the author, with Ms. Boynton, in terms of really being able to fit in and capture what she was imagining — because as you know, she has a very particular kind of humor and sensibility about what she does. She’s so specific that I just really wanted to get the feelings of what she had for the music and just to get it right according to the way she thought of it. And that was a lot of fun to try to do because I admire her work a lot.”
Ma has also spoken about his commitment to his own children. He shares daughter Emily and son Nicholas with his wife of 47 years, Jill Hornor.
“When we had children, we made our family the center of our lives,” he told PEOPLE in a 2020 interview. “It was crucial not to be defined by our professions. We’re human beings first, and then we are what we do.”
Ma also credited his wife for being there for their children while he spent time touring the world, saying, “She’s never made the children feel as if something was missing. I’m grateful to her for holding the fort.”
While many think of Ma’s work as sophisticated and mature, the cellist is always working to make classical music accessible and fun for children.
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