1 - Yo-Yo Ma

Yo Yo Ma is a world-renowned cellist who was born on October 7, 1955 in Paris, France to his Chinese parents. Throughout his life, Ma has been around music. Actually, both of his parents were highly involved in music. Ma's mother was a singer, and his father was a professor of music. Yo Yo Ma began his music career at a very young age. His first instrument was the violin. After experimenting with it, Ma moved onto the viola, and by the age of 4, he discovered his passion lay in the cello. Because of his remarkable advancements in music at such a young age, he was seen as a modern child prodigy. For this reason, Yo Yo Ma was asked to perform at President Kennedy's Inauguration at the age of seven. Later on in his life, Ma attended Julliard School of Music, Colombia University, and finally Harvard University. At theses three institutes, Ma studied music, and he eventually gained his bachelor's degree from Harvard. Once he became an acclaimed classical artist, Ma was targeted for several appearances in movies such as Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon and The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, and live appearances at the White House and the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum. Ma's grace and style of playing are what make him stand out above the rest. He does not use traditional classical techniques. Instead, he is seen as a very eclectic musician that uses influences from multiple cultures. Because of his unique style, Yo Yo Ma was asked to perform, along with three other musicians, at President Barack Obama's Presidential Inauguration. Because of this connection, the 2009 Presidential Inauguration of Barack Obama is the 2nd degree of separation from Al-Qaeda and terrorism.

Video of Yo Yo Ma: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RM9DPfp7-Ck