United States – Music Festivals Tour
August 8-22, 2010

The Silk Road Ensemble with Yo-Yo performed to enthusiastic audiences and much critical acclaim during an August 2010 tour of summer concert venues in the United States:

Tanglewood Music Center – Lenox, Massachusetts
Zeiterion Theatre – New Bedford, Massachusetts
Mann Center for the Performing Arts – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
CMAC Performing Arts Center – Rochester, New York
Blossom Music Festival – Cleveland, Ohio
Orchestra Hall – Detroit, Michigan
Memorial Auditorium, UNC Chapel Hill – Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Pabst Theater – Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Ravinia Festival – Highland Park, Illinois
Overture Center for the Arts – Madison, Wisconsin

The fast-paced program reflected the diversity of the 15-member ensemble, with music hailing from China to India, from Persia to Europe to the Americas.

Concerts opened with a piece brought to the group by Galician bagpiper Cristina Pato: Caronte, inspired by Caronte (or Charon, of Greek myth), the ferryman who transported the souls of the dead across the river to eternity. In a similar vein but from another part of the world, Ascending Bird, which Colin Jacobsen and Siamak Aghaei arranged for the Ensemble, tells the mythical Persian tale of a bird losing itself in the transcendent radiance of the sun. Wine Madness is based on the story of a third-century Chinese scholar and musician who, by remaining drunk for 60 days, evades saying no to an emperor. Rounding out the first half of the program was Osvaldo Golijov's Air to Air, an expansive work drawing from musical traditions as diverse as a Christian-Arab Easter song and 18th-century Sardinian protest melodies.

Throughout the tour, percussionists Mark Suter and Joe Gramley took turns performing in Giovanni Sollima's The Taranta Project – a piece that demands an unusual body-percussion solo as well as a virtuosic cello passage. Shristi by tabla player and composer Sandeep Das gave the percussionists an opportunity to shine before the program closed with a traditional Chinese piece, the dramatic Ambush from Ten Sides.

Standing ovations led to a series of encores in each city, some unexpected. In Rochester, for example, the final music included a surprise rendition of the hip-hop artist Jay-Z's Empire State of Mind for the New York crowd.

John von Rhein called the "multicultural jam session" at Ravinia "exhilarating" and the Wisconsin State Journal praised the "amazing musicianship" at the "wonderfully thrilling and accessible" Madison concert. Third Coast Digest had this to say about the performance in Milwaukee:

"The big, happy crowd — the Pabst was nearly full — hooted and hollered after astonishing riffs, which were plentiful. The Silk Road concert was as brainy and high-minded as a symphony concert, but felt more like a jazz or rock event."

TOUR BLOG:

Guitarist Jon Mendle performed on this tour with the Silk Road Ensemble for the first time. He blogged about his experiences: learning the music, the on-the-road camaraderie among the musicians, and Yo-Yo Ma's artistic leadership.

"The ensemble's musicianship and technical ability is about as high as I've seen, but beyond that, the joy and freedom in their music making is profound. What an experience."

August 2010 – Traveling with the Silk Road

CONCERT REVIEWS:

Madison concert: Yo-Yo Ma's ensemble unites world of talent
August 23, 2010 – Wisconsin State Journal

Chicago concert: Ma's Silk Road group treats Ravinia throng to a multicultural jam session
August 22, 2010 – Chicago Tribune

Chicago concert: Downpours cannot dampen Silk Road Ensemble's milestone celebration
August 21, 2010 – Chicago Classical Review

Milwaukee concert: Eclectic musical evening excels; Yo-Yo Ma's global group melds past, present perfectly
August 20, 2010 – Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel

Milwaukee concert: A mighty wind on the Silk Road
August 19, 2010 – Third Coast Digest

Cleveland concert: Yo-Yo Ma and Silk Road Ensemble make journey to Blossom rewarding
August 16, 2010 – Cleveland Plain Dealer

New Bedford concert: Spectacular show worth bringing to New Bedford
August 16, 2010 – South Coast Today

New Bedford concert: World-class artists in our own backyard
August 16, 2010 – South Coast Today

Rochester concert: Yo-Yo Ma and Silk Road Project draw a crowd at CMAC
August 13, 2010 – Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

Philadelphia concert: Sound of cultural conflux
August 13, 2010 – Philadelphia Inquirer

INTERVIEWS WITH YO-YO MA AND MEMBERS OF THE SILK ROAD ENSEMBLE:

Yo-Yo Ma, Silk Road hit milestone
August 20, 2010 – Chicago Sun-Times

Yo-Yo Ma's Silk Road Ensemble at the Pabst tonight
August 19, 2010 – Third Coast Digest

Interview with Yo-Yo Ma: A personal journey on a cultural Silk Road
August 16, 2010 – Epoch Times

Yo-Yo Ma brings musicians from around the globe to Madison
August 15, 2010 – Wisconsin State Journal

Yo-Yo Ma tours the Silk Road
August 15, 2010 – Raleigh News and Observer

Silk Road Ensemble is Yo-Yo Ma's cultural teaching tool
August 14, 2010 – Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel

Yo-Yo Ma's Silk Road Ensemble winds through Detroit
August 14, 2010 – Detroit News

Yo-Yo Ma takes Silk Road on exploration of world music
August 13, 2010 – Cleveland Plain Dealer

Silk Road Project is still spinning beautiful music
August 12, 2010 – Detroit Free Press

Yo-Yo Ma and Silk Road Ensemble members discuss music
August 11, 2010 – Talk Philly CBS Show (video)

Yo-Yo Ma and Silk Road Ensemble members perform
August 11, 2010 – Talk Philly CBS Show (video)

Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble at the Mann: beyond borders
August 8, 2010 – Philadelphia Inquirer

Yo-Yo Ma's Silk Road Project brings cultures together
August 8, 2010 – Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

United States – Music Festivals TourAugust 8-22, 2010

Participating Artists

United States – Music Festivals Tour
August 8-22, 2010