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BENTONVILLE, Ark. — On February 26, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art will host renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma, his son Nicholas Ma, and former Surgeon General Vivek Murthy for a keynote conversation moderated by award-winning actor and producer Alfre Woodard. The group will explore wellness, unity, and a path toward hope in our complex world. A special performance by Yo-Yo Ma will follow the conversation. On February 27, the museum will screen the short documentary “Leap of Faith,” directed by Nicholas Ma.
Crystal Bridges has presented several distinguished lectures since 2012, inviting visitors to hear from internationally acclaimed leaders who inspire new ways of thinking about art and wellness.
IN CONVERSATION: NICHOLAS MA, YO-YO MA, AND VICE ADMIRAL VIVEK H. MURTHY
WHAT: A keynote conversation at Crystal Bridges with Yo-Yo Ma, his son Nicholas Ma, and former Surgeon General Vivek H. Murthy, featuring a cello performance by Yo-Yo. The conversation, moderated by acclaimed actor and humanitarian Alfre Woodard, will explore themes of conflict transformation, faith, loneliness, and the power of human connection to serve a common good.
WHEN: Wednesday, February 26, 2025 | 5 PM
WHERE: Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art | 600 Museum Way | Bentonville, AR 72712
HOW: Guests can purchase tickets in advance on the Crystal Bridges website.
WHO: Nicholas Ma is an award-winning director, writer and producer based in Brooklyn. He produced the documentary Won’t You Be My Neighbor? about the life of Fred Rogers, which premiered at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival, and most recently the WNBA documentary Unfinished Business, which premiered at the 2022 Tribeca Film Festival.
His feature directorial debut, Mabel (San Francisco International Film Festival, 2024), which he co-wrote with Joy Goodwin, was awarded the Sloan Prize. Previously, he directed the award-winning short documentary Suite No. 1, Prelude (New York Film Festival, 2019).
Nicholas has been a DOC NYC fellow and Film Independent Fellow. Prior to his career in film, he covered global economic policy on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, after working as a consultant in New York and Shanghai. He received his M.F.A. from NYU Tisch School of the Arts and is a graduate of Harvard College.
Yo-Yo Ma’s multi-faceted career is testament to his belief in culture’s power to generate trust and understanding. Whether performing new or familiar works for cello, bringing communities together to explore culture’s role in society, or engaging unexpected musical forms, Yo-Yo strives to foster connections that stimulate the imagination and reinforce our humanity. Most recently, Yo-Yo began Our Common Nature, a cultural journey to celebrate the ways that nature can reunite us in pursuit of a shared future. Our Common Nature follows the Bach Project, a 36-community, six-continent tour of J. S. Bach’s cello suites paired with local cultural programming. Both endeavors reflect Yo-Yo’s lifelong commitment to stretching the boundaries of genre and tradition to understand how music helps us to imagine and build a stronger society.
Yo-Yo is an advocate for a future guided by humanity, trust, and understanding. Among his many roles, Yo-Yo is a United Nations Messenger of Peace, the first artist ever appointed to the World Economic Forum’s board of trustees, a member of the board of Nia Tero, the US-based nonprofit working in solidarity with Indigenous peoples and movements worldwide, and the founder of the global music collective Silkroad.
Dr. Vivek H. Murthy served as the 19th and 21st Surgeon General of the United States. As Vice Admiral of the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, he commanded a uniformed service of 6,000 public health officers.
Dr. Murthy’s work has widened the lens through which we understand forces that shape our health and well-being. He has drawn attention to critical, underappreciated health issues including the epidemic of loneliness, the impact of social media on youth mental health, parental mental health and well-being, the youth mental health crisis, and health worker burnout.
In 2020, Dr. Murthy published the New York Times best-seller Together: The Healing Power of Human Connection in a Sometimes Lonely World. His 2025 “Parting Prescription to America” laid out a vision for rebuilding community as the key to health, happiness, and fulfillment.
Raised in Miami, Dr. Murthy graduated from Harvard College and received his MD from the Yale School of Medicine and his MBA from the Yale School of Management. He trained in internal medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School. A renowned physician, research scientist, entrepreneur, and author, Dr. Murthy lives in Washington, DC with his wife, Dr. Alice Chen, and their two children.
Alfre Woodard is an actor and producer whose illustrious body of work includes her Academy Award nominated performance in Martin Ritt’s CROSS CREEK; BAFTA Award nominated role in CLEMENCY; Steve McQueen’s 12 YEARS A SLAVE, HBO’s MANDELA; Lawrence Kasdan’s GRAND CANYON; John Sayles’ PASSION FISH; Joseph Sargent’s MISS EVERS’ BOYS, for which she won Emmy, SAG, and Golden Globe Awards; Spike Lee’s CROOKLYN; Gina Prince-Bythewood’s LOVE AND BASKETBALL; Tyler Perry’s THE FAMILY THAT PREYS; Maya Angelou’s DOWN IN THE DELTA; played Betty Applewhite on the ABC drama DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES and Ruby Jean Reynolds, mother to Lafayette Reynolds, on HBO’s TRUE BLOOD. Woodard co-starred in Lifetime’s hit remake of STEEL MAGNOLIAS, in which she was nominated for a SAG and Emmy Award and won an NAACP Image Award for her performance as Ouiser.
Woodard has been nominated for 17 Emmy Awards (winning four), seven SAG Awards (winning three), three Golden Globe Awards (winning one), 21 NAACP awards (winning nine), and three Independent Spirit Awards (winning one). She received a BAFTA award, a Gotham award, and an Independent Spirt Award nomination for her leading role in Neon’s CLEMENCY. Her performance in Martin Ritt’s CROSS CREEK earned her an Academy Award nomination.
In addition to her acting career, Woodard is an influential activist, who for 25 years worked to support human rights, democracy, and the fight against HIV/AIDS in South Africa. In 2009, U.S. President Barack Obama appointed Woodard to the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities, where she helped establish the Turnaround Arts Initiative as a way to narrow the achievement gap and increase student engagement across the country. She also works in support of the Children’s Defense Fund.
“LEAP OF FAITH” | SCREENING & FACILITATED CONVERSATIONS
WHAT: A screening of Nicholas Ma’s award-winning documentary “Leap of Faith,” followed by a Q+A and facilitated roundtable discussions. Hosted in partnership with The Colossian Forum, One America, and Stand Together, this event is an opportunity for the community to engage through shared experiences and conversation.
WHEN: Thursday, February 27, 2025 | 4 PM
WHERE: The Momentary | 507 SE E Street | Bentonville, AR 72712
HOW: Guests can register for this free event on the Momentary’s website.
“In Conversation: Nicholas Ma, Yo-Yo Ma, and Vice Admiral Vivek H. Murthy” and “Leap of Faith | Screening & Facilitated Conversations” are sponsored by Reed Greenwood, Malcolm and Ellen Hayward, and Jason and Carol Vella.
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About Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art
The mission of Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art is to welcome all to celebrate the American spirit in a setting that unites the power of art with the beauty of nature. Since opening in 2011, the museum has welcomed more than 13 million visitors across its spaces, with no cost for admission. Crystal Bridges was founded in 2005 as a non-profit charitable organization by arts patron and philanthropist, Alice Walton. The collection spans five centuries of American masterworks from early American to current day and is enhanced by temporary exhibitions. The museum is nestled on 120 acres of Ozark landscape and was designed by the world-renowned Safdie Architects. A rare Frank Lloyd Wright-designed house was preserved and relocated to the museum grounds in 2015. Home of the prestigious Don Tyson Prize for the Advancement of American Art and Tyson Scholars of American Art Program, Crystal Bridges offers public programs including lectures, performances, classes, and teacher development opportunities. Some 478,375 school children have participated in the Willard and Pat Walker School Visit program, which provides educational experiences for school groups at no cost to the schools. Additional museum amenities include a restaurant, gift store, library, and five miles of art and walking trails. In February 2020, the museum opened the Momentary in Downtown Bentonville (507 SE E Street), conceived as a platform for the art, food, and music of our time. In 2026, Crystal Bridges will complete a 114,000 square foot expansion that will allow the museum to expand access for all. For more information, visit CrystalBridges.org. The museum is located at 600 Museum Way, Bentonville, Arkansas 72712.
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