Yo-Yo Ma's Address to the Americans for the Arts Summit

On Monday, April 8, 2013, Yo-Yo Ma, along with former Guns N’ Roses drummer Matt Sorum and Damian Woetzel, former principal dancer at New York City Ballet and the director of the Aspen Institute Arts Program, participated in the Americans for the Arts Summit in Washington DC, discussing the need to develop strong public policies for arts education.
Mr. Ma and Mr. Sorum played a jam session briefly for a gathering of legislators and arts advocates from across the country who planned to visit congressional offices. They performed with bagpiper Cristina Pato and dancing star Lil Buck. The Washington Post has an interesting article describing the event.
The intent of the gathering was to press Congress to restore funding to the NEA, and to push for funding for music education in public schools.
Mr. Ma gave the 2013 Nancy Hanks Lecture on Arts & Public Policy; you can read a complete transcript here. He was introduced by Vicki Kennedy, widow of the late Senator Edward Kennedy.
You can also watch the entire event on YouTube. Yo-Yo Ma’s remarks begin at minute 48 in the video.