A man with a cello stepped out onto the stage. Unassuming and cheerful, he looked rather ordinary, minus the instrument in his hand.He smiled warmly at the audience and said, “So, what are we going to do tonight? Well, I think I’ll do some playing.”

He proceeded to play “Prelude to Bach’s Cello Suite #1” impeccably. Presenting Yo-Yo Ma, world-renowned cellist and speaker of the Oct. 26 Bryan Series lecture.

Having produced over 75 albums and won 16 Grammy Awards, Ma has been widely acclaimed for his virtuosity.

As Brian Carter, a part-time lecturer in music and instructor of cello, said succinctly, “He (Ma) is the guy to know for cellists.”

Particularly, critics have hailed Ma for daring to transcend the bounds of classical music. His collaborations have varied from playing with the jazz vocalist Bobby McFarin to the bluegrass fiddler Mark O’Connor.

“He has fearlessly crossed so many genre boundaries and succeeded in every one,” remarked Rebecca Moore-Painter, a junior and cellist.

During his lecture, Ma chronicled how he became so involved in so many genres. Ma’s story began in college, at Harvard University.

He had trouble at first adjusting to college, recalling, “I slept through my exams -and I had three alarm clocks.”

Despite all the setbacks, however, college changed Ma’s life, as people from all disciplines opened his world.

“They were all as passionate about what they loved as I was about playing cello,” said Ma, “and all of them wanted to share that passion with me.”

Ultimately, college left him with a lifelong curiosity and respect for the lives and talents of others.

Fast-forwarding to his 30s, Ma reflected his upon his early career as a musician. By now, he had received numerous letters from people thanking him for his Bach Cello Suites, saying how much the suites helped them through tough times.

It was then that Ma began to wonder, “How do I bring this music to a more general audience?”

“Younger people who attended my concerts,” explained Ma, “ranged from those with a mild interest to the mildly interested.”

Around this time, Ma met O’Connor. Impressed with the fiddler, Ma decided to collaborate with him. After three unsuccessful months of on-and-off work, Ma came upon an important realization. His collaboration with O’Connor was fruitless because the fiddler had completely different tuning suited to his own aesthetics.

“I had to change my tuning, my bow, and my technique (to accommodate O’Connor),” said Ma.

When asked where he learned to play so well, O’Connor told Ma that he learned from one of the greatest fiddlers who ever lived, who, much to Ma’s surprise, was a neighborhood mechanic.

“If such talent was right underneath my nose,” said Ma, “imagine what other talent is there.”

Ma started to frequent local areas, absorbing everything his neighborhood had to offer.

In 1998, he formed the Silk Road Ensemble, a collection of roughly 60 musicians from various nationalities. The idea behind the ensemble was to unite countries throughout the world with music, much like the Silk Road of old.

Guilford students were entranced by Yo-Yo Ma’s lecture, but they were even more entranced by Ma’s playing.

“I got goosebumps whenever he played,” said senior Payne Curlin.

“I love Yo-Yo Ma. I love Bach. I was in heaven,” said sophomore Meredith Brown.

Towards the end of the lecture, the moderator, Catherine Brand, asked Ma a question collected from the audience: “I have two cats. One is named Yo-Yo Ma. The other is named Pablo Casals (another famous cellist). Are you honored or offended?”

True to his humble, collaborative self, Ma replied, “I am honored, but I hope Yo-Yo Ma and Pablos Casals get along, because I have much to learn from Casals.