Yo-Yo Ma Launches Interactive Online Bach Experience

The 8-week series will feature videos of Ma discussing the Bach Suites for solo cello, with participants invited to join the discussion

Cellist Yo-Yo Ma is launching a new eight-week interactive program entitled "Bach, Unlocking Meaning, and Finding Purpose." Consisting of a mixture of videos, livestreams, and bonus behind-the-scenes footage, the program will also offer a forum where its participants can come together to discuss all things Bach.

The central part of the program is made up of the weekly "episodes" — seven videos that focus on each of Bach's Suites for solo cello, with one introductory episode. Ma has determined a theme for each Suite, and will use that theme as a starting point to help bring listeners to a new understanding of the piece.

In addition, Ma will be hosting a number of streams titled "Live in Conversation." Each week, Ma is joined by a different collaborator, so as to access wisdom from a range of prominent musicians. Guests include Jacob Collier, Adam Grant, Baratunde Thurston, and Krista Tippett.

During these sessions, participants can take part in the discussion by submitting their questions to a facilitator.

"I am so excited about this," Ma said of the project. "Because it is interactive, I get to find out in a 360-degree way how people think, hear and react to it. To get that all around, it’s something that never happens. It’s a unique way to create some form of cultural communication."

You can find out more about the project or sign up for it, here.