Leonard Bernstein introduces 7yearold YoYo Ma and his 11yearold sister YeouCheng Ma to Presidents John F. Kennedy and Dwight D. Eisenhower at "An American Pageant of the Arts," on November 29, 1962. The purpose of the event was to raise funds for the National Cultural Center, begun under Eisenhower's administration and encouraged under Kennedy's. The prodigious duo performed the first movement of the Concertino No. 3 in A Major, by JeanBaptiste Breval.

Two months after President Kennedy's assassination in November 1963, Congress passed and President Johnson signed into law legislation renaming the National Cultural Center as a "living memorial" to John F. Kennedy.

Watch the full pageant with Bob Newhart, Harry Belafonte, Danny Kaye, Marian Anderson, Robert Frost, Maria Tallchief, and many more:
   • "An American Pageant of the Arts" wit...  

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Leonard Bernstein's introduction of YoYo Ma:
“An aspect of that double stream of art I mentioned earlier flowing into and out of America, has long been the attraction of our country to foreign artists, and scientists and thinkers, who have come not only to visit us, but often to join us as Americans, to become citizens of what to some has historically been the land of opportunity and to others the land of freedom. And in this great tradition, there has come to us, this year, a young man aged 7, bearing the name YoYo Ma. Now YoYo came to our attention through the great master Pablo Casals who had recently heard the boy play the cello. YoYo is, as you may have guessed, Chinese, and has lived up to now in France—a highly international type. But he and his family are now here. His father is teaching school in New York, and his 11yearold sister, YeouCheng Ma, is pursuing her musical studies, and they are all hoping to become American citizens. We shall now have the pleasure of hearing YoYo Ma, accompanied by his sister YeouCheng Ma, play the first movement of the Concertino No. 3 in A Major, by JeanBaptiste Breval, who played, taught, and composed for the cello 150 years ago in France. Now, here’s a cultural image for you to ponder as you listen. A 7yearold Chinese cellist, playing old French music, for his new American compatriots. Welcome YoYo Ma and YeouCheng Ma.”

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