UNESCO-organized Yo-Yo Ma concert addresses future of our planet

15 / 12 / 2022

By Marwa Nassar - -

Yo-Yo Ma concert – organized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) – was held under the title of ‘An Invitation to Create the Future’ to address the future of the planet and the role of space in inspiring and creating it.

The show brought together a diverse range of guests from music, academia, science and the space industry. Between musical performances that ranged from classical to pop, the concert showed the ability of Yo-Yo Ma’s music to take guests into an oneiric and inimitable dimension, and the debate he was able to provoke from his art as well as his knowledge gave them elements to enlighten their own.

“This discussion is us asking what our direction should be…. And when people really collaborate, you get better answers…. So we need to communicate with one another,” Yo-Yo Ma said.

Among the guests who joined Yo-Yo Ma on stage to share their thoughts and experiences on this theme were European Space Agency (ESA)’s Director General Josef Aschbacher and ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer, who both answered questions from the audience. In the course of the presentations, punctuated by questions from the cellist, science and music managed to show guests how they complement each other. Amir Siraj, a 22-year-old astrophysicist and pianist, explained that he undertook a ‘long dialogue with nature’ to find out whether the sun had a twin, when it occurred to him that two voices seemed to revolve around one another.

By asking questions about topics that are inextricably tied up with humanity, Yo-Yo Ma invited guests to cross disciplines and knowledge to understand what is inside them and outside of themselves. He led the speakers to share their interpretation of the world, emphasizing the link that unites them all – everything being interconnected.

“Everything in life has everything to do with symmetry and asymmetry,” he said.

Yo-Yo Ma delivered a message about the importance of listening, communicating and collaborating in order to gather answers that will allow people to create the future.

The show culminated in a musical performance where everyone was involved, including Matthias Maurer assisting on the piano and the audience participating by creating a ‘galaxy of stars’ with the flashlights on their phones. The final number was a powerful version of David Bowie’s ‘Space Oddity’ with a lead vocal by singer-songwriter Imany, reminding that people are all made of star dust, which provided a reflective ending to the show.

UNESCO’s mission to foster mutual understanding and respect for the planet has a close affinity with ESA and its values. The inspiring lesson highlighted by this show’s dialogue between music and science was about the value of cooperation and how humanity can achieve great things by working together.