In this exclusive interview conducted by Peiwen Wang in New York City, Dr. YeouCheng Ma shares inspiring and often very humorous stories from her childhood in Paris and then New York, and her days as a student at Harvard University. She also shares practical advicedrawn from her own experience studying piano and violinfor young musicians trying to develop and perfect their art.

Dr. Ma is an accomplished violinist and pianist, having studied with her father, Dr. HiaoTsun Ma. Dr. Ma is the sister of cellist YoYo Ma, and has accompanied him on piano and violin since their days as child prodigies performing on television for President John F. Kennedy and the conductor Leonard Bernstein.

A practicing pediatrician educated at Harvard Medical School, Dr. Ma is currently Executive Director of the Children's Orchestra Society, a nonprofit organization devoted to providing musical education to young students. Founded by her father, the Society celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2019. Dr. Ma's decadeslong work for the Society was profiled in The New York Times in May 2019.

This is a condensed version of a longer interview with Dr. YeouCheng Ma.