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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

The Silk Road Project is a not-for-profit artistic, cultural and educational organization with a vision of connecting the world's neighborhoods by bringing together artists and audiences around the globe. Founded by cellist Yo-Yo Ma in 1998, the Silk Road Project takes inspiration from the historic Silk Road trading route as a modern metaphor for multicultural and interdisciplinary exchange.

Under the artistic direction of Mr. Ma and the leadership of CEO and Executive Director Laura Freid, the Silk Road Project presents performances by the acclaimed Silk Road Ensemble, engages in cross-cultural exchanges and residencies, leads workshops for students, and partners with leading cultural institutions to create educational resources and programs.

Developing new music is a central mission of the Silk Road Project, which has been involved in commissioning and performing more than 60 new musical and multimedia works from composers and arrangers from around the world.

The Silk Road Project holds residencies in museums and universities. 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.

From October 2008 through September 2010, the Silk Road Project is celebrating its 10th anniversary with Silk Road Ensemble performances across three continents.

“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