Next on the docket was an “Arts Leaders Luncheon,” hosted by the Office for the Arts (OFA) and held at the Faculty Club. The OFA invited a laundry list of extracurricular artistic organizations to attend, from the Hasty Pudding Theatricals to Christian a cappella group Under Construction. Ma gave an opening address, and a member of the SRP was seated at each table.

Eva M. Luo ’08, captain of the Harvard Asian-American Dance Troupe, who was seated with the SRP’s Programs Coordinator, found the organization’s attempts at fusion between past and present inspiring. “Maybe this is far-fetched,” says Luo, “but we’d really like to dance to some of their music.” However, she adds that she “didn’t get a chance to find out to what extent that would be possible.”

Throughout the week, the OFA held multiple “Learning from Performers” events with the Ensemble at Paine Hall.

On Monday evening, the Ensemble began one of the most interactive aspects of its week: actual performance with students. The OFA invited dozens of student musicians to play with the Ensemble in two “reading sessions” of original music by Persian ensemble member Kayhan Kalhor.

Nick Cords, a violist from the ensemble, says that these sessions were a highlight for him. “In just spending ten minutes on those things, it was amazing how much [the students] were able to make the piece their own,” he says. “The rhythm, for instance, is something that everyone feels in a slightly different way.”

At the sessions, the ensemble was also looking for new talent. Five musicians were selected to rehearse with the group and play with them at the Thursday night concert. One such musician was cellist Bong I. Koh ’08, who found the experience thrilling, especially due to Ma’s constant presence.

“Mr. Ma attended every rehearsal—I wasn’t expecting that,” says Koh, “Obviously, he had a lot of things to do, along with the Silk Road Project, but being in that situation, you couldn’t tell that he was under so much stress—he was really enjoying rehearsals!”

Koh also emphasizes the excitement he felt at being able to study non-Western music. Much of the music being played was on a 12-tone scale, which differs from the typical Western, eight-tone, “do-re-mi” scale. Some notes are added, some omitted. But no matter where in the world musicians come from, Koh feels that they are taught primarily Western styles.

“I don’t think Harvard lacks the resources [for the study of Eastern musical traditions],” says Koh, “but I think we lack the participation of students who should be interested in Eastern music…Harvard students are familiar with the fact that those two worlds exist, but don’t know how to link them. The Silk Road Ensemble will definitely be a link.”

In a very concrete way, the ensemble will be acting as a link between the past and present for students in. Knafel Professor of Music Thomas Kelly’s popular Core class, Literature and Arts B-51, “First Nights.” The course focuses on the history of a handful of famous musical premieres, and each year, Kelly asks a professional composer to select musicians and debut a brand new piece in December, allowing the students to experience something like what they’ve studied.

This year, the composer is Kalhor, who will be collaborating with the Ensemble to create a work entitled “Silent City.” Kelly says he looks forward both to the fact that the piece will incorporate non-Western modes, and that the group will appear before the class twice as often as the performing groups usually do during the semester. “This year, I think, will be particularly exciting,” says Kelly.

A slightly chillier response initially greeted the ensemble on Wednesday night, when a “jam session” was held in Cabot House. Students from across the campus were invited to come and play with the members of the ensemble, and although Yo-Yo Ma was present, he didn’t play with the group.

“They never explicitly told me Yo-Yo was going to play, but I thought it was a reasonable assumption to make,” says Cabot House Master Jay Harris. But any mumblings of disappointment were soon swept away by the music and the spirit of improvisation. As Julia I. Bertelsmann ’09 put it, “When you’re playing with people doing such amazing things with their instruments, it makes you feel freer with your own.”

OFA Director Jack Megan feels Ma’s decision not to play was, very likely, a part of the cellist’s general vision for the residency. “Yo-Yo does not want it to be about Yo-Yo,” says Megan. “His desire is to make sure that the actual Silk Road work comes first.”

In this, the first stage of the residency, that appeared to be a success. The enthusiasm of the crowd during its culmination at Sanders was unmistakeable. But what the residency will mean for the future of Harvard is still up for debate.