Search
Log in
  • Home

  • Categories

  • Audiobooks

  • E-books

  • For kids

  • Top lists

  • Help

  • Download app

  • Use campaign code

  • Redeem gift card

  • Try free now
  • Log in
  • Language

    🇫🇮 Suomi

    • FI
    • EN

    🇧🇪 Belgique

    • FR
    • EN

    🇩🇰 Danmark

    • DK
    • EN

    🇩🇪 Deutschland

    • DE
    • EN

    🇪🇸 España

    • ES
    • EN

    🇫🇷 France

    • FR
    • EN

    🇳🇱 Nederland

    • NL
    • EN

    🇳🇴 Norge

    • NO
    • EN

    🇦🇹 Österreich

    • AT
    • EN

    🇨🇭 Schweiz

    • DE
    • EN

    🇸🇪 Sverige

    • SE
    • EN

Read and listen for free for 42 days!

Cancel anytime

Try free now
4.0(2)

Playing at the Border : A Story of Yo-Yo Ma

The New York Times bestselling author of Eyes That Kiss in the Corners, Joanna Ho, delivers a poignant biography about the musician Yo-Yo Ma, immigration, and using music to build bridges.

“Everyone can benefit from Ho’s message of music bringing calm and peace to the world.” —Booklist

Joanna Ho’s lyrical writing tells an inspiring story of Yo-Yo Ma, who challenges conventions, expectations, and beliefs in order to build bridges to unite communities, people, and cultures. A beautiful biography to enjoy and share in the home and the classroom.

Before Yo-Yo Ma became one of the most renowned and celebrated cellists, he wanted to play the double bass. But it was too big for his four-year-old hands. Over time, Ma honed his amazing talent, and his music became a reflection of his own life between borders, cultures, disciplines, and generations.

Since then, he has recorded over a hundred albums, won nineteen Grammy Awards, performed for eight American presidents, and received the National Medal of the Arts and the Presidential Medal of Freedom, just to name a few accomplishments.

Staying true to himself, Yo-Yo Ma performed at the US-Mexico border at the Rio Grande on April 13, 2019, as part of his multi-continent “Bach Project” tour to prove a point—through music, we can build bridges rather than walls between different cultures.


Author:

  • Joanna Ho

Narrator:

  • Kevin Shen

Format:

  • Audiobook

Duration:

  • 14 min

Language:

English


More by Joanna Ho

Skip the list
  1. Eyes That Weave the World's Wonders

    Joanna Ho, Liz Kleinrock

    audiobook
  2. The Silence that Binds Us

    Joanna Ho

    audiobook
  3. Eyes That Speak to the Stars

    Joanna Ho

    audiobook
  4. Eyes That Kiss in the Corners

    Joanna Ho

    audiobook

Others have also read

Skip the list
  1. That Dangerous Energy

    Aya De León

    audiobook
  2. Perfect Ruin

    Lauren DeStefano

    book
  3. The Sniper

    Chang Kuo-Li

    audiobook
  4. Elddonet

    H. C. Andersen

    book
  5. The Green Children of Woolpit

    J. Anderson Coats

    book
  6. This Might Hurt a Bit

    Doogie Horner

    book
  7. Bror Groda och Bror Padda

    Arnold Lobel

    book
  8. Sodomsäpplet

    Bengt Martin

    book
  9. Queen of the Tiles

    Hanna Alkaf

    audiobook
  10. The Scream

    Laurent Graff

    book
  11. Aftershocks : A Memoir

    Nadia Owusu

    book
  12. Kind of Sort of Fine

    Spencer Hall

    book

  • 5 books

    Joanna Ho

    Joanna Ho is passionate about equity in books and education. She has been an English teacher, a dean, and a teacher professional development mastermind. She is currently the vice principal of a high school in the San Francisco Bay Area. Homemade chocolate chip cookies, outdoor adventures, and dance parties with her kids make Joanna’s eyes crinkle into crescent moons. Her books for young readers include Eyes That Kiss in the Corners. Visit her at www.joannahowrites.com and @JoannaHoWrites.

    Read more

Help and contact


About us

  • Our story
  • Career
  • Press
  • Accessibility
  • Partner with us
  • Investor relations
  • Instagram
  • Facebook

Explore

  • Categories
  • Audiobooks
  • E-books
  • Magazines
  • For kids
  • Top lists

Popular categories

  • Crime
  • Biographies and reportage
  • Fiction
  • Feel-good and romance
  • Personal development
  • Children's books
  • True stories
  • Sleep and relaxation

Nextory

Copyright © 2025 Nextory AB

Privacy Policy · Terms ·
Excellent4.3 out of 5