On April 1, 1998, Yo-Yo Ma ’76 made a shocking announcement.

He told National Public Radio that he planned to give up the cello for the bandoneon, an Argentinian accordion. Instantly, NPR’s phone lines were jammed with listeners despondent over the loss of their favorite instrumentalist.

Crisis was averted when the network clarified that Ma, the world’s most famous cellist, was just helping out with its April Fool’s Day prank.

Ma is more than just a musician—he is a cultural celebrity. His name has been dropped on “Seinfeld” and he made a cameo appearance on the Christmas special of “The West Wing.” Even children recognize him: Ma has chatted with Elmo on “Sesame Street” and stopped by “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.”

His fame has attracted a worldwide following that far exceeds the popularity of almost every other classical musician.

He has recorded more than 50 albums and won Grammy Awards for more than a dozen.

Ma’s playing is not the only source of his appeal. His projects are far from the stereotype of a tuxedo-clad classical musician playing stuffy music in a centuries-old symphony hall.

In a recent six-hour video project for PBS, Ma collaborated with artists from various disciplines to present Bach’s “Suites for Unaccompanied Cello.” Choreographer Mark Morris, Olympic figure skaters Torvill and Dean, filmmaker Atom Egoyan, a Kabuki actor and a landscape designer worked with Ma on different suites to create what The Washington Post called an “18th-century music video.”

Appalachian bluegrass, tango and the jazz stylings of Bobby McFerrin are just a few of the musical genres that Ma has explored over the years.

He recently performed with Itzhak Perlman at the Academy Awards, playing themes from movies nominated for Best Score, including Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Ma is featured on the soundtrack from that movie, which won the Oscar in that category.

Lynn W. Chang ’75, a violinist with the Boston Chamber Music Society and lifelong friend of Ma, says that it is Ma’s ability to connect with the audience that makes him such a successful performer.

“There is a certain personality and persona in his playing—he is just a wonderful communicator,” Chang says. “There are many who play their instruments well on stage, but there are a select few who are able to go beyond that—who have a certain charisma that goes over the footlights—that makes the audience fall in love with them.”

Ma developed his communication skills during his four undergraduate years at Harvard.

“He was just so shy at the beginning,” Chang remembers.

Chang says that before Harvard, Ma’s life was intensely focused on his family and his cello. Born in Paris to Chinese parents, he took up the cello at the age of four (because, Ma has said, he was attracted to its large size). He was performing in Carnegie Hall by the time he was nine and he was soon studying with Leonard Rose at Julliard’s pre-college program.