When the world stopped in 2020, cellist Yo-Yo Ma started thinking about how music can reconnect people to the natural world. In this limited podcast series, Yo-Yo goes around the country to places where people have deep connections to the earth and begins to play. Host Ana González joins him to uncover stories of the ways that culture binds us to nature, from Maine to Appalachia and Hawaii. The result is a seven-episode series that fuses music, personal narratives, and local histories from across the United States. We travel into the world's largest cave ... to hear the Louisville symphony orchestra perform. In Hawai‘i, an elder says her “chants are our contribution to the human orchestra of the world.” And the Wabanaki teach us about their duty to welcome the sun each day in Maine. For Yo-Yo Ma, who has spent his entire career indoors, a connection to the natural world is “what doesn’t exist in my life, that I know is missing.” Our Common Nature helps to bridge the gap – for Yo-Yo and for all of us.
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When the world stopped in 2020, cellist Yo-Yo Ma started thinking about how music can reconnect people to the natural world. In this limited podcast series, Yo-Yo goes around the country to places where people have deep connections to the earth and begins to play. Host Ana González joins him to uncover stories of the ways that culture binds us to nature, from Maine to Appalachia and Hawaii. The result is a seven-episode series that fuses music, personal narratives, and local histories from across the United States. We travel into the world's largest cave ... to hear the Louisville symphony orchestra perform. In Hawai‘i, an elder says her “chants are our contribution to the human orchestra of the world.” And the Wabanaki teach us about their duty to welcome the sun each day in Maine. For Yo-Yo Ma, who has spent his entire career indoors, a connection to the natural world is “what doesn’t exist in my life, that I know is missing.” Our Common Nature helps to bridge the gap – for Yo-Yo and for all of us.
On the island of Molokaʻi in Hawaii, we trace the spiritual power of mana, from a sacred grove to the Kalaupapa colony, where music, story, and Yo-Yo Ma’s performance honor the resilience and memory of those who came before.
Our Common Nature
When the world stopped in 2020, cellist Yo-Yo Ma started thinking about how music can reconnect people to the natural world. In this limited podcast series, Yo-Yo goes around the country to places where people have deep connections to the earth and begins to play. Host Ana González joins him to uncover stories of the ways that culture binds us to nature, from Maine to Appalachia and Hawaii. The result is a seven-episode series that fuses music, personal narratives, and local histories from across the United States. We travel into the world's largest cave ... to hear the Louisville symphony orchestra perform. In Hawai‘i, an elder says her “chants are our contribution to the human orchestra of the world.” And the Wabanaki teach us about their duty to welcome the sun each day in Maine. For Yo-Yo Ma, who has spent his entire career indoors, a connection to the natural world is “what doesn’t exist in my life, that I know is missing.” Our Common Nature helps to bridge the gap – for Yo-Yo and for all of us.
