Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is the Silk Road?
The ancient Silk Road was a network of trading routes that crisscrossed Eurasia from the first millennium B.C.E. through the middle of the second millennium C.E., linking diverse cultures and peoples and promoting an unprecedented sharing of ideas, art, science and innovations. 

The Silk Road Project takes inspiration from this historic Silk Road, viewing it in a modern context as a metaphor for multicultural and interdisciplinary communication and exploration.

2. How did the Silk Road Project originate?
The Silk Road Project was founded in 1998 by cellist Yo-Yo Ma, who continues as its artistic director­­. Inspired by his many years of traveling as a performing artist and his interest in exploring music as a means of communication and a vehicle for the migration of ideas, he presented a vision for the Silk Road Project to connect the world’s neighborhoods by bringing together artists and audiences around the globe.

In June 1998, Yo-Yo Ma gathered experts from a number of fields, from ethnomusicology to art history, to develop a project that would integrate artistic, cultural and educational programs. A series of workshops led by Yo-Yo Ma at the Tanglewood Music Center in 2000 resulted in the formation of the Silk Road Ensemble and served as a launch pad for the Silk Road Project, now an ongoing not-for-profit arts and educational organization.

3. What does the Silk Road Project do?
Inspired by the interchange of culture, ideas and innovations along the historic trade route, the Silk Road Project presents performances by the Silk Road Ensemble; commissions interdisciplinary works of music, visual art, and storytelling; and develops educational materials and programming. Through these activities, the Silk Road Project connects musicians, composers, artists and audiences from Asia to Europe to the Americas and acts as a catalyst for promoting innovation and learning through cross-cultural and interdisciplinary partnerships. 

4. Who are the people behind the Silk Road Project?
Founder and Artistic Director Yo-Yo Ma is world renowned for his energetic live performances and his successful recordings that have garnered more than 15 Grammy awards. His many-faceted career is a testament to his continual search for new ways to communicate with audiences and to his personal desire for artistic growth and renewal. In classical performances, as in his exploration of musical forms outside of the Western classical tradition, Ma strives to find connections that stimulate the imagination.

Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director Laura Freid has more than two decades of leadership experience in higher education, has written extensively on higher education in the twentieth century and consults on strategic issues facing global organizations. She has led the Silk Road Project since 2004.

Based in Providence, Rhode Island, a staff of seven manages the planning and operations of the Silk Road Project.

The Silk Road Project is overseen by a Board of Directors comprised of a diverse group of leaders who share a commitment to exploring cross-cultural exchange between Silk Road regions and the West.

5. What is the Silk Road Ensemble?
The Silk Road Ensemble is a group of performers and composers drawn from 21 countries and a wide range of musical heritages. Many of the Ensemble musicians first came together at a Silk Road Project workshop in 2000 at the Tanglewood Music Center in Massachusetts, under the artistic direction of Yo-Yo Ma. The Ensemble is not a fixed group, but rather a collective of exceptional musicians and artists—including storytellers and visual artists—who collaborate on a diverse number of projects, fostering one another’s artistic growth and presenting innovative and energetic performances that explore traditional and contemporary music.

6. What type of music does the Silk Road Ensemble perform?
The Silk Road Ensemble performs music that is rooted in the heritages of the countries along the historic Silk Road, both traditional pieces and newly commissioned works that spring from some of today’s most exciting musical crossroads. Rather than fitting into the narrow categories of fusion or “world music,” the Silk Road Ensemble’s repertoire simply reflects the multicultural reality of many contemporary composers’ and musicians’ lives.

7. How is new music commissioned for the Ensemble?
Commissioning new works is a central mission of the Silk Road Project. Since its inception, the Project has incorporated over 30 works commissioned from artists representing countries including Armenia, Azerbaijan, China, Iran, Korea, Mongolia, Tajikistan, Turkey and Uzbekistan. The Silk Road Project commissions new works and new arrangements of traditional music from both established and up-and-coming composers and arrangers, as well as from members of the Silk Road Ensemble. Additionally, the Silk Road Project partners with organizations such as the Weill Institute of Music and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra to commission new works and arrangements for a combination of western and indigenous Silk Road instruments.

8. How have visual arts, storytelling and other disciplines been incorporated into the work of the Silk Road Project?
In addition to presenting new and traditional music, the Silk Road Project is also committed to exploring the visual and narrative traditions from the countries along the historic trade route. Museum residencies in particular integrate these aspects, bringing together visual art, oral literature and music to increase awareness of the diverse people, arts and cultures along the historic Silk Road. Silk Road Ensemble residencies have taken place at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts in 2004; the Nara National Museum in Nara, Japan in 2005; the Rubin Museum of Art in New York in 2006; the Art Institute of Chicago, as part of the yearlong Silk Road Chicago celebration in 2006-2007; and the Rietberg Museum in Zurich, Switzerland in 2007.

9. Does the Silk Road Project have an education component?
Education is an integral part of Silk Road Project initiatives. By presenting curricular initiatives and publications as well as residencies incorporating performances and workshops, the Project provides a gateway to greater understanding of the world through exploration of the Silk Road and strives to ignite a passion for learning through the arts.

Since 2005, the Silk Road Project has been affiliated with the Rhode Island School of Design and with Harvard University and participates in regular residencies at both universities. At RISD, Ensemble members share works in progress and interact with students and faculty to explore the intersection of music and the visual arts. The affiliation with Harvard University has involved students from the Harvard-Radcliffe Orchestra and has led to the development of a variety of interdisciplinary courses taking inspiration from the Silk Road.

In partnership with the Stanford Program on International and Cross-Cultural Education (SPICE), the Silk Road Project co-developed Along the Silk Road, a curriculum for students in grades 6-10 with interactive exercises to enrich students’ understanding of the cultural, historic, artistic, musical, philosophical and scientific contributions made by nations within the Silk Road region. The curriculum addresses U.S. national standards for world history, social studies, geography, music education and English language arts.

10. Where can I experience the work of the Silk Road Project?
Details regarding the activities of the Silk Road project, including performances, recordings, residencies and education initiatives are available on the Silk Road Project website. View the calendar.

11. Are there any recordings available of the Silk Road Ensemble?
Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble have released three albums on Sony Classical: Silk Road Journeys: When Strangers Meet, April 16, 2002; Silk Road Journeys: Beyond the Horizon, April 5, 2005; and New Impossibilities, July 31, 2007. In addition, The Silk Road: A Musical Caravan, a two-CD compilation of traditional music along the Silk Road, was produced by Smithsonian Folkways Recordings in 2002 in partnership with the Silk Road Project.

12. Have Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Project performed along the Silk Road?
Since its inception, the Silk Road Project has presented the Silk Road Ensemble or developed projects in 21 countries, including nations in the Silk Road region. Performance highlights include the Concertgebouw (Amsterdam), the BBC Proms (London), the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (Washington), the Philharmonia (Baku, Azerbaijan), World Expo 2005 (Nagoya, Japan), Carnegie Hall (New York), the Nobel Prize Celebrations in Stockholm and Lucerne Festival in Switzerland. An award from the U.S. Department of State supports a two-way exchange between Silk Road Ensemble artists and musicians in Azerbaijan, China and India.

13. What are the Silk Road Project’s plans for the future?
The Silk Road Project will continue to present performances by the Silk Road Ensemble in the United States and internationally, conduct museum and university residencies and partner with leading institutions on cultural and educational initiatives. See the calendar for upcoming events.

14. How is the Silk Road Project funded?
The Silk Road Project, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization supported by individuals, foundations, and corporations; sponsors include Ford Motor Company, Mikimoto, Morgan Stanley and American Express.
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