Yo-Yo Ma (born October 7, 1955) is a French-born Chinese-American cellist. He was born in Paris and spent his schooling years in New York City and was a child prodigy, performing from the age of four and a half. He graduated from the Juilliard School and Harvard University and has enjoyed a prolific career as both a soloist performing with orchestras around the world and a recording artist. He has recorded more than 90 albums and received 18 Grammy Awards.\n', '

In addition to recordings of the standard classical repertoire, he has recorded a wide variety of folk music such as American bluegrass music, traditional Chinese melodies, the tangos of Argentinian composer Ástor Piazzolla, and Brazilian music. He has also collaborated with Grammy Award-winning jazz singer Bobby McFerrin, as well as five-time Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter and guitarist James Taylor. \n', 'Ma\'s primary performance instrument is a Montagnana cello crafted in 1733 and valued at US$2.5 million.\n', '

He has been a United Nations Messenger of Peace since 2006.\n', '

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