Can Music Build Empathy? Silkroad’s Mission Is to Prove It Can
The sprawling global musical collective founded by Yo-Yo Ma, now led by Rhiannon Giddens, is 25 years old. Its mission, the artists say, is more urgent than ever.
In 2000, cellist Yo-Yo Ma founded a global music collective at a time when the world was vastly different. The collective, known as the Silk Road Ensemble, aimed to celebrate the diverse musical styles and cultures along the historic Silk Road, which stretched from East Asia to the Mediterranean. The musicians believed that artistic connection could be a means to build empathy among people from different backgrounds.
Today, the organization has evolved into Silkroad, led by artistic director Rhiannon Giddens. The project has expanded into various facets, including a touring ensemble with 36 members, a Global Music Workshop in Boston and Hangzhou, China, where musicians collaborate across cultures, outreach efforts to bring Silkroad performers to underserved and marginalized communities, educational programs, recordings, a documentary film, and a podcast.
This Saturday marks the 25th anniversary of Silkroad, which will be celebrated with a gala concert at Carnegie Hall. The lineup includes both Ma and Giddens, as well as numerous other Silkroad artists from around the globe. Ma, in an email, emphasized that the ensemble's message is more relevant than ever. "We are living through a time shaped by the twin forces of our nature," he stated, "our capacity for tremendous creativity and our ability to wreak terrible destruction."
He expressed hope that Silkroad would remind people that they have a choice, and that they can always opt for creativity over destruction.
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