Yo-Yo Ma to Receive First Fred Rogers Award in Latrobe, Pa.

Photo from “Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.”

Renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma will receive the first-ever Fred Rogers Legacy Award at St. Vincent College in Latrobe, Pa. (Yes, that’s the same Fred Rogers who you are most likely to know as “Mr. Rogers.”) More from NBC 10:

Ma was a guest on [Mr. Rogers Neighborhood] and became friends with Rogers, whose legacy continues at the Fred Rogers Center for Early Learning and Children’s Media at Saint Vincent College near Latrobe, which was Rogers’ hometown about 40 miles east of Pittsburgh.

Karen Strubel Myers, the center’s director of development, says the award recognizes meritorious and charitable work, but will not necessarily be offered annually.

Ma will give a recital after accepting the award May 23 at a ceremony in the St. Vincent Basilica.

Ma is being honored, among other reasons, for his Silk Road Project which seeks to promote cultural and artistic studies linked to the trade route of the same name.

Don’t remember the Yo-Yo Ma appearance on Mr. Rogers Neighborhood? Refresh your memory below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2CccvrcN-M