Yo-Yo Ma: How Music Heals Us (Part 2)

Yo-Yo Ma and the Surgeon General continue the conversation about the power of music. Yo-Yo reflects on how music was an antidote to his father’s loneliness while trapped in Paris during WWII, and how Yo-Yo shared his music to comfort people during the pandemic.

Continuing with personal stories about connection, the conversation turns to parenting, why it seems harder for men to connect, and what Mr. Rogers taught both of them. They also talk about why connecting to yourself is so important, and how Yo-Yo does that through practicing what he calls “The Beginner’s Mind.”

If you enjoy the art of conversation, this episode will be music to your ears. It will build up what Yo-Yo Ma refers to as your “emotional bank account” and bring about a sense of hope.

(02:04)    How Yo-Yo's father turned to music to address loneliness 

(07:14)    How Yo-Yo's childhood informs his parenting 

(12:15)    On men & loneliness 

(15:32)    Lessons from Mister Rogers 

(20:26)    How did Yo-Yo Ma use music to help people during the COVID-19 pandemic? 

(24:03)    The importance of the Beginner’s Mind 

(26:55)    On burnout 

(33:57)    What are you grateful for? 

(38:38)    What are Yo-Yo Ma and the Surgeon General reading these days? 

(42:02)    What gives Yo-Yo Ma hope? 

 For more episodes, visit www.surgeongeneral.gov/housecalls.  

We’d love to hear from you! Send us a note at [email protected] with your feedback & ideas. 

Yo-Yo Ma, Cellist & Humanitarian

Twitter: @YoYo_Ma 

Instagram: @YoYoMa 

Facebook: @YoYoMa 

YouTube: @YoYoMa 

About Yo-Yo Ma 

Yo-Yo Ma’s multi-faceted career is testament to his belief in culture’s power to generate trust and understanding. Whether performing new or familiar works for cello, bringing communities together to explore culture’s role in society, or engaging unexpected musical forms, Yo-Yo strives to foster connections that stimulate the imagination and reinforce our humanity. 

Most recently, Yo-Yo began Our Common Nature, a cultural journey to celebrate the ways that nature can reunite us in pursuit of a shared future. Our Common Nature follows the Bach Project, a 36-community, six-continent tour of J. S. Bach’s cello suites paired with local cultural programming. Both endeavors reflect Yo-Yo’s lifelong commitment to stretching the boundaries of genre and tradition to understand how music helps us to imagine and build a stronger society. 

Yo-Yo Ma was born in 1955 to Chinese parents living in Paris, where he began studying the cello with his father at age four. When he was seven, he moved with his family to New York City, where he continued his cello studies before pursuing a liberal arts education. 

Yo-Yo has recorded more than 120 albums, is the winner of 19 Grammy Awards, and has performed for nine American presidents, most recently on the occasion of President Biden’s inauguration. He has received numerous awards, including the National Medal of the Arts, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and the Birgit Nilsson Prize. He has been a UN Messenger of Peace since 2006, and was recognized as one of TIME magazine’s 100 Most Influential People of 2020.  www.yo-yoma.com.