Yo-Yo Ma visits Elliot Hall to speak about music and arts

An afternoon of music, inspiration and humor took place in Elliot Hall this past Sunday. Renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma visited Purdue’s campus as a part of Purdue Convocations’ Presidential Lecture series.

After being introduced by President Mung Chiang, Ma immediately led the crowd in familiar boilermaker cheers, setting the tone of the evening.

While Ma is a musician, the event was more of a conversation with the PBS Newshour Correspondent Jeffrey Brown and the audience. The cellist played wonderful pieces, but that was not the only goal of his visit, he said.

“We’re just here to share some thoughts, some experiences,” Ma said. “We’re not going to prove anything to you.”

Brown said he intended to show the audience the man behind the music, and asked the cellist about his own time in college.

“I was so worried and unprepared, I had no idea what was going on,” Ma said. “I’m thinking back to when I had no opinion… I only knew what I was supposed to think.”

The musician recounted his time in university and the beginnings of his adult life, offering advice to the audience and remarks about his adventures as a young musician.

Brown eventually asked when Ma knew he wanted to be a musician. To this, Ma responded confidently that he was 49-years-old when he knew the answer.

“I’ve been playing the cello since I was four years old,” Ma said. “Since I started at such an early age, I never had to make the decision that this is what I wanted to do.”

Ma said the reason it took so long to decide was because he felt that he would be useless.

“I was always worried… Music wasn’t helpful, people are hurting, people are hungry,” Ma said. “It was at 49 when I realized I could do it all through the lens of music.”

Ma said it is important to be two-sided, and students should be multifaceted when it comes to their education.

“President Chiang said to me, ‘My field is engineering, but I’m in school and now I love poetry,’” Ma said. “Those two sides make you human.”

Throughout the afternoon, Ma played brief pieces of music, demonstrating his skill with the cello. He tied each piece of music with what he was talking about, often in the middle of a thought.

Ma spoke about Dimitri Shostakovich after playing a piece dedicated to political unrest during his time.

“Shostakovich made this for those people that didn’t have a voice,” Ma said. “This piece is 60 to 70 years old, something that can be related to it [happened] last week.”

To say goodbye to Purdue, Ma invited the audience to play with him. While he played a piece by Bach, many audience members joined in singing, filling Elliot Hall full of music.

“I love live music, it’s different every time,” Ma said. “I have to find new motivation (every time).”