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Arts & Culture

The Silk Road Ensemble With Yo-Yo Ma: Live From Tanglewood

Members of The Silk Road Ensemble performing at Tanglewood.
Courtesy of Magdalena Lepka
Members of The Silk Road Ensemble performing at Tanglewood.

Airs Friday, May 9, 2014 at 10 p.m. on KPBS TV

Embark on a dynamic musical journey in this inspiring documentary that provides a front-row seat to a milestone performance by the Silk Road Ensemble and dives into the rich history of this “mobile musical think tank” formed by renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma.

Members of the Silk Road Ensemble performing at Tanglewood.
Courtesy of Magdalena Lepka
Members of the Silk Road Ensemble performing at Tanglewood.
Silk Road Ensemble founder and renowned cellist, Yo-Yo Ma.
Courtesy of Magdalena Lepka
Silk Road Ensemble founder and renowned cellist, Yo-Yo Ma.

The eclectic group unites distinguished musicians, composers and performing artists from more than 20 countries to celebrate, explore and experiment with the wide variety of cultural approaches to musical performances.

The group recently celebrated 15 years together with a summer concert at Tanglewood, an important classical music site in western Massachusetts. This intimate documentary features performances from that concert, background interviews, behind-the-scenes excerpts and magical offstage moments.

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“The Silk Road Ensemble helps us to answer the question ‘Who are we and how do we fit in the world?’” says artistic director and cellist Yo-Yo Ma. “We came from hometowns around the globe, and what we found is that while we didn’t necessarily have histories in common, we did share a language of music and of culture. Our sense of coming together across time and geography is apparent on stage.”

A production of BFMI and Sony Classical in association with Tremolo Productions. © 2012 BFMI/Sony Music Entertainment. Presented by WGBH