Cellist. Born October 7, 1955, in Paris, France, into a wealthy musical family. Ma is widely regarded as the greatest living cellist, admired for his ability to translate emotional nuances and his technical brilliance, as well as his mastery of both classical and contemporary compositions. Ma is the son of Chinese parents. His father, Hiao-Tsiun, was a violinist and musicologist, and his mother, Marina, was a mezzo-soprano. Like his sister Yeou-Cheng, Ma's first instrument was the violin, but he quickly switched to the cello. Beginning his studies at the age of four under his father's tutelage, he learned to master musical works by dividing them into increments of two measures to be studied intensively for 10 minutes a day. His natural talent coupled with this succinct method of study (developed by his father) taught young Ma to concentrate with such intensity that he gave his first public recital—at the Institute of Art and Archeology at the University of Paris—when he was just five years old. In 1962, the Ma family moved from Paris to New York City. Though Ma's technical ability and musical comprehension was far advanced, his parents resisted pressure to send their son on tour. Instead, at the age of seven, he became the youngest student ever to study with Leonard Rose (renowned soloist and a member of a world-class trio comprised of pianist Eugene Istomin and violinist Isaac Stern) at the Juilliard School of Music in New York. At the urging of Isaac Stern, Ma later attended Harvard University, avidly studying any subject that interested him—from Chinese literature and astronomy to math and sociology—and graduating in 1977. In his youth Ma suffered from scoliosis (curvature of the spine), which threatened the future of his ability to play. In 1980, he underwent surgery to correct his spine, well aware of the potential danger. Ma mentally prepared himself for the possibility that he would never be able to play again. “I had decided that there's more to life than the cello,” he said. “There are so many things that I find enormously exciting.” The alternative professional paths he considered were teaching or social work; fortunately, however, the surgery was a success, and he remained devoted to a career in music. Between 1983 and 1998, Ma recorded 50 albums. During this time, he won 10 Grammy Awards in the categories of Best Classical Performance Instrumental, Best Chamber Music Performance, and Best Classical Album. Among his award-winning works are Bach: The Unaccompanied Cello Suites, Elgar: Cello Concerto, Op. 85, Beethoven: Cello and Piano Son. No. 4 (with Emanuel Ax), and Shostakovich: Trio No. 2 for Violin, Cello and Piano (with Emanuel Ax and Isaac Stern). He has collaborated with some of the greatest musicians in the world, including Bobby McFerrin, Mark O'Connor, Peter Serkin, Richard Stoltzman and Kathryn Stott. In particular, collaborations with his long-standing partner, pianist Emanuel Ax, have resulted in recordings of the complete cello sonatas of numerous masters, including Beethoven, Brahms, Britten, Chopin, Prokofiev, Rachmaninoff, and Strauss. Ma frequently includes contemporary composers in his repertoire, including premieres of works by William Bolcom, John Corigliano, John Harbison, Ezra Laderman, and John Williams. Performances in which he showcases the works of several contemporary composers in a single night are not unheard of, a practice otherwise unprecedented amongst his more traditional colleagues. In 2000, his sweeping cello solos graced the Academy Award-winning soundtrack for Ang Lee's internationally acclaimed film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. In 1977, Ma married his long-time girlfriend, Jill Horner. Together they have two children, Nicholas and Emily. In 1991, Ma received an honorary doctorate from Harvard University.