UCSB Arts & Lectures presents classical music treasures Yo-Yo Ma & Kathryn Stott performing Songs of Comfort and Hope on Wednesday, May 5 at 5:00 p.m. Pacific. Over their 35-year musical relationship, beloved cellist Yo-Yo Ma and acclaimed pianist Kathryn Stott have “developed a wonderfully warm and mutually responsive musical partnership that has blossomed in performances that are both generous and incisive” (NPR). Their recent collaborative album Songs of Comfort and Hope was conceived in April 2020 when people everywhere were entering a dramatic new world. Ranging from fresh arrangements of traditional folk tunes, pop songs and jazz standards to mainstays from the western classical repertoire, the album encourages a sense of community, identity and purpose, crossing boundaries and binding us together in thanks, consolation and encouragement. Performing songs from the album selected specifically for this event, Yo-Yo Ma and Kathryn Stott hope that the familiarity and reinvention contained in this music offers everyone some comfort and hope.