Renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma returning to Mechanics Hall for Music Worcester program

Yo-Yo Ma appeared April 7, 2019, at Mechanics Hall in Worcester. He will return to perform Jan. 10, 2025.
Yo-Yo Ma appeared April 7, 2019, at Mechanics Hall in Worcester. He will return to perform Jan. 10, 2025.

WORCESTER — Renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma, one of the best-known musicians of his generation, will return to Mechanics Hall for a program on Jan. 10, 2025, presented by Music Worcester.

"An Evening with Yo-Yo Ma: Reflections in Words and Music" will combine musical selections with Ma discussing how they have shaped his thinking about art, human nature and our search for meaning. "Together, the cellist’s music and words ask us to consider what music is for, and how it can guide us on a path towards hope," Music Worcester said in a news release. The program will be Music Worcester's annual Arthur M. & Martha R. Pappas Foundation Concert.

Ma was previously at Mechanics Hall in 2019 as part of Music Worcester's 160th anniversary season.

"We are so happy to welcome Yo-Yo Ma back to Worcester for his first public visit since 2019,” said Adrien C. Finlay, executive director of Music Worcester.  “Not only an extraordinary musician, he remains one of the great cultural ambassadors worldwide."

The Arthur M. & Martha R. Pappas Foundation Concert celebrates "Martha and the late Arthur’s legacy as being among the most generous philanthropists in Central Massachusetts,” Finlay said.  Arthur Pappas, a pioneering orthopedic surgeon and educator, died in 2016.

Ma has recorded more than 120 albums, is the winner of 19 Grammy Awards and has performed for nine American presidents, most recently on the occasion of President Biden’s inauguration. He has received numerous awards, including the National Medal of the Arts and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He has been a United Nations Messenger of Peace since 2006.

Tickets for "An Evening with Yo-Yo Ma" begin at $75 and will go on sale to the general public on Oct. 14. Presale opportunities are available to sponsors, donors and season subscribers. For tickets and more information, visit musicworcester.org.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma returning to Mechanics Hall for program