Yo-Yo Ma

Cellist

Yo-Yo Ma is considered the world's greatest living cello player, a professional musician since the age of 5 whose celebrity transcends the world of classical music. Born in Paris, Ma (of Chinese descent) was a child prodigy on the cello and began serious study in New York in the early 1960s. He graduated from Harvard University in 1976, already an internationally acclaimed cellist. He has won more than a dozen Grammy awards and is known especially for his interpretations of Bach and Beethoven, and for his ability to play many different styles of music, including tango and bluegrass.

Extra credit: In 2001 he was dubbed "Sexiest Classical Musician" by PEOPLE magazine... In 2002 he played a Washington, D. C. concert with U.S. National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice.