The Score | Both Sides Now

On opposite banks of the Rio Grande are the cities of Laredo, Texas and Nuevo Laredo, Mexico. On April 13, Yo-Yo Ma performed Bach’s Suite No. 1 for Unaccompanied Cello next to one of the bridges connecting them as part of his 36-city Bach Project tour. In addition to his performance at the Juarez-Lincoln International Bridge, Ma met with music students in Nuevo Laredo and performed in Plaza Juarez. In Laredo, Texas he was hosted by the Laredo Philharmonic, participated in a community conversation, and ended the day with a music and dance festival at Tres Laredos Park. Each stop on Ma’s Bach Project tour has included a “day of action,” and Ma had chosen Laredo/Nuevo Laredo because of its location straddling the U.S.-Mexico border. Brendan Townsend, music director of the Laredo Philharmonic, noted in Texas Monthly that Ma was “most interested in bringing communities together and seeing how they connect with culture. We’re two cities divided by a river, but really, we’re one community.”