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Programs

Kojiro Umezaki narrates Blue and White at Museum Rietberg in Zurich, Switzerland.

© WILL KRACHER

Multimedia Performances
The Silk Road Ensemble develops multimedia performances that integrate music, narrative, images and animation. The Ensemble created Blue and White, a work tracing the migration of blue-and-white porcelain throughout the world, during residencies at the Art Institute of Chicago and Museum Rietberg in Zurich, Switzerland.

Sandeep Das and Yo-Yo Ma in a Silk Road Ensemble performance in China

Sandeep Das and Yo-Yo Ma in a Silk Road Ensemble performance in China

© ANDREW WONG

Program Overview

A not-for-profit artistic, cultural and educational organization founded in 1998 by cellist Yo-Yo Ma, the Silk Road Project takes inspiration from the historic Silk Road trading route as a modern metaphor for multicultural and interdisciplinary exchange.

Under Ma’s artistic direction, the Silk Road Project presents performances by the Silk Road Ensemble, leads workshops for students, and develops new musical and multimedia works. The Silk Road Project has been involved in commissioning and performing more than 60 new musical works from composers and arrangers from around the world.

Partnering with leading cultural and educational institutions, the Silk Road Project holds residencies in museums and universities and develops educational resources for elementary- and secondary-school students. In addition, the Silk Road Project is engaged in long-term affiliations with Harvard University and Rhode Island School of Design, where classes are using the metaphorical Silk Road as a new approach to integrative study.

“We all feel we’re better musicians as a result of the Silk Road Project. We were taken to musical areas we didn’t know well, and have widened our own musical worlds. We have more tools with which to express ourselves. Most importantly, I feel more human, more connected to others.”

- YO-YO MA