Day Tripping: October 7

Impressario

Born in Paris, France to Chinese parents in 1955, Yo-Yo Ma became a child prodigy at the age of four and a half. Educated in New York and then Julliard School, Ma continued his studies at Harvard University. During most of that time, he performed cello at concert halls around the world.

“Passion is one great force that unleashes creativity, because if you’re passionate about something then you’re more willing to take risks.”

Since becoming a world-renowned concert cellist, Yo-Yo Ma has ventured into musical styles such as bluegrass, folk music with James Taylor, and Brazillian and Argentine music with the composer, Astor Piazzolla. Yo-Yo also collaborated with rock guitar great, Carlos Santana on a Beatles cover of While My Guitar Gently Weeps.

The cello that Ma plays in concert is a 1733 Domenico Montagnana named Petunia, valued at $2.5 million. His personal family ancestry has been traced back to the year 1217, eighteen generations.

Today is:

Frappé Day — a strange time of year for a chilled coffee day, but what the heck.

Musical Ride

The Desert Trip Festival kicked off with the most expensive assembly of aging musicians in 2016. The bill consisted of The Rolling Stones, The Who, Neil Young, Roger Waters, and Paul McCartney.

The six-day elite ticket brought in over $160 million, making it the highest-grossing music festival ever. At one point in the show, McCartney announced, “We finally found someone under the age of 50,” to introduce Rhianna for a duet.

Interesting Notes

In 1958, NASA renamed the manned spaceflight program Project Mercury. Before that, the program was called Project Astronaut.

Gone But Not Forgotten

Myron “Grim” Natwick was an animator and cartoonist best known for drawing the Getty Boop character. He also worked on Disney’s Fantasia, Mickey Mouse cartoons, Popeye, and Mr. Magoo.

Myron Natwick was 100 years old when he died in 1990.

Notable Births

1952 — Vladimir Putin and 1959 — Simon Cowell — What are the odds?

K. Barrett Maria Rattray Maryam Merchant Dr. Mehmet Yildiz Tree Langdon Myriam Ben Salem Phil Truman Chelsea Mandler MAT Terry Mansfield Hollie Petit, Ph.D. Terry Trueman Dr. Preeti Singh John Gruber Bill Abbate James G Brennan ScienceDuuude Marcus Liam Ireland Claire Kelly Noorain Hassan, BMS Amy Pierovich David Acaster Nora Thewriteyard David Perlmutter Joe Luca Holly Kellums Michael Burg, MD Lucy Dan Dave Logan

All previous Day Tripping entries are available at the following links:

The Story Of Day Tripping Through History What’s Past Is Often Present

A comprehensive directory for Day Tripping