Cellist Yo-Yo Ma to Perform at Heinz Hall, 2/25/15

PITTSBURGH - The ancient Silk Road takes a new route through Heinz Hall on February 25 when cello superstar Yo-Yo Ma and his music collective bring their unique program to Pittsburgh.

The Silk Road Ensemble, which is celebrating its 15th anniversary, is a group of performers and composers from more than 20 countries along the routes of the ancient Silk Road, a series of land and sea trade routes crisscrossing Eurasia from Japan to the Mediterranean Sea. The ensemble creates unexpected connections, collaborations and communities, celebrating the multiplicity of approaches to music from around the world. With high-energy performances rooted in Eastern and Western traditions, their voices and instruments - including the Persian kamancheh, Indian tabla, Galician gaita, Japanese shakuhachi, Chinese pipa and sheng, world percussion, and Western strings - meet in a repertoire that reflects the multicultural reality of our global society. Ma, who serves as the group's artistic director, will be performing at this concert.

Please note that this concert does not feature the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.

The concert begins at 7:30 p.m. and doors open at 6:30 p.m. Tickets, ranging in price from $55 to $150, go on sale on December 8. Tickets can be purchased in person at the Heinz Hall box office, on the phone at 412-392-4900 or online at pittsburghsymphony.org

Since 2000, the Silk Road Ensemble has been redefining classical music for 21st-century audiences. Cellist Yo-Yo Ma established the nonprofit organization Silkroad and the Ensemble to explore the role of the arts in fostering cross-cultural understanding, deepening learning and promoting innovation. Under the artistic direction of Ma, the Silk Road Ensemble draws on the rich array of traditions that make up our shared cultural heritage to create a new musical language - a uniquely engaging and accessible encounter between the foreign and the familiar that reflects our many-layered contemporary identities. The group has performed throughout Asia, Europe and North America, and has recorded five albums, including the most recent CD, "A Playlist Without Borders," and "Live From Tanglewood" DVD.

Heinz Hall for the Performing Arts is owned and operated by Pittsburgh Symphony, Inc., a non-profit organization, and is the year-round home of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. The cornerstone of Pittsburgh's Cultural District, Heinz Hall also hosts many other events that do not feature its world-renowned orchestra, including Broadway shows, comedians, speakers and much more. For a full calendar of upcoming non-symphony events at the hall, visit heinzhall.org.

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