photo by Mann courtesy Yo-YoMa.com

In mid-March of this year, as the COVID-19 pandemic began sweeping across the globe, internationally-acclaimed American cellist Yo-Yo Ma started live-streaming #SongsOfComfort on his YouTube channel. (All of the livestreams are still there and available for viewing / listening).

During an interview with PBS News Hour, he explained why:

Music always has been comforting to me. This is what I do, and this is the best that I can offer… If I can actually offer a little bit of something that is comforting, then that’s how I would define my job.

Music is for everyone… music is something that actually looks into the inside, and that also knows no boundaries. If we can actually express what is in our insides and show that, then this is the beginning of a deeper understanding of one another… We’re collecting what is personal, what is true, what is trustworthy, what is community. Because community is nothing except what is based on trust.

In a recent interview with The New York Times Magazine, he continues on these themes. “Music connects human beings. It brings people together… I’ve been asking myself all my life, ‘What is the purpose of music?’ It’s like trying to find the meaning almost every day, because the purpose yesterday may not be the purpose today… during a pandemic, with the alienation of not having social contact, music is also that physical force. It’s energy… We need music to make us feel at equilibrium through hard times and good times.”

Curated by The Circle creative director & editor Lara Herscovitch. To reach Lara directly: thecircle@clpnewhaven.org or Lara@LaraHerscovitch.com

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