NPR

Yo-Yo Ma: Goats, Rodeos And The Power Of Music

Hear the cellist talk about the purpose of music in the face of racial tension and health crises, plus his new album, Not Our First Goat Rodeo, which reunites him with old bluegrass buddies.
The musicians on <em>Not Our First Goat Rodeo</em>, from left to right: Yo-Yo Ma, Chris Thile, Stuart Duncan and Edgar Meyer.

Between the pandemic, the economic crisis and now protests, 2020 has already been a lot. Yo-Yo Ma has been coping, and trying to help the rest of us cope, with music. The cellist has been posting videos of himself playing what he calls "Songs of Comfort."

"I do believe that everything that we do," he says, "people in every profession — medical workers, the delivery people,

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