The Silk Road Ensemble with Yo-Yo Ma at Guangzhou Opera House

Performances by the Silk Road Ensemble spring from contemporary musical crossroads, with roots in both Eastern and Western traditions. Since first coming together under the artistic direction of Yo-Yo Ma in 2000, this global collective has performed to critical acclaim throughout Asia, Europe and North America. Silk Road Ensemble members hail from more than 20 countries, several from along the routes of the ancient Silk Road.

Most members are musicians, many of international renown, but storytellers and visual artists also number among them. Moreover, the Ensemble encompasses the composers and arrangers whose musical and multimedia works this exceptional assemblage of voices and instruments brings to life. What binds together this diverse group is each individual’s delight in an ever-unfolding process of teaching and learning. The Ensemble takes up one of the dominant artistic challenges of our times: to maintain the integrity of art rooted in authentic traditions while nourishing global connections