The story of Yo-Yo Ma goes further back than many think. Born to two Chinese musicians in Paris (his mother a singer and his father a composer and professor at the Nanjing Central University before the Chinese Civil War), Ma soon proved himself to be a child prodigy - from the age of three he was playing piano, violin and viola, but settled on his signature instrument (the cello) at the age of four. By the age of seven, he had performed for Presidents Eisenhower and Kennedy. By eight, he had been introduced in performance by Leonard Bernstein. By nine, he had been seen by audiences across the country on Johnny Carson's program. Not bad for before the age of ten, but it doesn't really answer our question.

While I can't concretely confirm this as the absolute reason, I will argue that Ma received a large amount of his household recognition thanks to his appearances in various entertainment mediums. In an age where there were only four or five major channels, Ma was given many major opportunities where a large number of people could potentially see him, something not typically offered to classical musicians. To quickly recap:

• He performed at patriotic events such as the ABC-covered 100th anniversary of the Statue of Liberty in 1986.

• That same year, he hung out on Sesame Street five times in one season.

• He also stopped by Mister Rogers' Neighborhood a few times in the 90s.

• And said hello to Arthur.

What do these four have in common? They're all major network programs that were being seen by millions of people.

Furthermore, this attention lead to more attention both wanted and unwanted. In 2001, much to his chagrin, Ma was voted by People Magazine as "Sexiest Classical Musician", but the media exposure also led to him being referenced in pop culture. I suppose being an 18-time Grammy winner also helps. How many other modern day classical musicians get such a level of exposure?

It also helps that Ma had connections. One that comes to mind is his connection to Steve Jobs, and as a result Ma was frequently performing at Apple events - even getting a Macintosh commercial.

Ma also did work with major musicians in major movies (such as Seven Years in Tibet and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon), with rock musician Sting at the 2002 Winter Olympics, pop star Miley Cyrus just this past year (on a Metallica cover album no less), and a collaboration with guitarist Carlos Santana. All three, mind you, also household names.

On top of this, Ma is often asked to perform at major events both celebrating anniversaries and major events and events mourning loss. Whether it would be the Statue of Liberty anniversary, the memorial concert for the September 11th attacks, or the inauguration of President Barack Obama, Ma was consistently in the setlist as a performer.

To sum it up, Yo-Yo Ma receives a good amount of name recognition primarily because he has more exposure in pop culture than the average classical musician from the right connections and being seen by millions of people through various mediums.