We are now looking for a sponsor for this event, so JM students can enjoy this experience entirely free of charge. Please contact us if you or your organization may be interested!
JM artists travel to Memorial Hall at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for world-renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma and pianist Emanuel Ax in a concert that sold out eight months in advance in just two hours. The experience includes excellent seating in the first two rows of the center mezzanine with transportation and dinner.
As with all of our Pinnacle of the Arts events, we are working now to arrange an opportunity for JM artists to learn directly from the world-class artists or other experts associated with the performance. If something can be arranged, we will announce the details as soon as they are final.
A child prodigy born to Chinese parents in Paris, Yo-Yo Ma is widely considered one of the greatest cellists in the history of classical music with a stunning career that includes 20 Grammy Awards, more than 92 albums and a long list of awards worldwide. Just a few include the National Medal of Arts, Presidential Medal of Freedom, Kennedy Center Honors and serving as a United Nations Messenger of Peace. But his career goes well beyond classical music, having appeared often on television and collaborated with artists ranging from Carlos Santana and James Taylor to Miley Cyrus and Sting.
Pianist Emanuel Ax has appeared regularly with Yo-Yo Ma for half a century in addition to performing with violinist Isaac Stern and major orchestras around the world. He is a member of the American Classical Music Hall of Fame and has received seven Grammy Awards as a soloist and in collaboration with other musicians.
Click here for more about Yo-Yo Ma and Emanuel Ax from Wikipedia and click here for a 35-second video of Yo-Yo Ma with Emanuel Ax.
Here’s how Carolina Performing Arts describes this program: “To be in the room when Yo-Yo Ma and Emanuel Ax perform together is to witness a musical relationship shaped by more than four decades of friendship, trust and curiosity. Ax has described their collaboration as one in which the music leads and the musicians follow. Their performances carry an ease and intimacy that only comes from years of listening closely to one another, responding in the moment and returning again and again to the joy of making music together.
“What makes this collaboration remarkable is not simply technical mastery. It is the sense of connection that runs through every note. Audiences can hear it in the way one musician follows the other’s lead, anticipates a phrase, or finds space for an unexpected idea to emerge.”
This event is part of our 2026-27 Pinnacle of the Arts series providing an opportunity for JM students to experience world-class arts. We are still seeking a sponsor for this event; please contact us if you, your company or your organization might be interested. Between 15 and 30 students attend each event entirely free of charge — including a meal and transportation.
👉 If you, your business or your nonprofit might be willing to sponsor an event for this or next season, please contact us! This is a remarkable opportunity to shape the lives of young artists.
📸 Photo by Nigel Parry