This Memorial Day, Valley Public Radio is proud to broadcast a rare live performance from cellist Yo Yo Ma in memory of those we have lost during the pandemic and as a tribute to those who are on the front lines.
The broadcast, which is produced by WBGH in Boston and PRX can be heard live on Sunday May 24th from noon till 2:30 p.m. Pacific time. Yo-Yo Ma will treat audiences to the six Bach Suites for unaccompanied cello, live from the WGBH studios in Boston.
Host station WGBH issued a press release stating more details about the program:
Ma’s offering of music comes in the midst of the now-rescheduled final leg of his Bach Project, a tour of the complete cello suites to 36 communities on six continents, part of a larger conversation about how culture can help us to imagine and build the world we want. Ma will perform the six suites in isolation from WGBH’s Fraser Studio, with each element of the production managed remotely by a single person and using robotic cameras. “In times of challenge, we’ve often come together in shared experiences,” said Jon Abbott, president and CEO of WGBH. “Yo-Yo Ma has a generosity of spirit, a solemnity that the moment deserves, and a warmth that reminds us of togetherness even as we feel alone. It is the strength we draw from each other that will help move us forward, and we are honored to host and produce this memorial event at WGBH and share it with the world through our public media network.” “We are proud to work with Yo-Yo to share his sounds of solace from our studio to the world,” said Anthony Rudel, general manager at WCRB. “It is supremely fitting to have a great musician who has devoted his life to the international community bring the world closer together through the international language that is music, and more specifically Bach.”