Photo: Cellist and Silk Road Ensemble founder Yo-Yo Ma, Silk Road Ensemble percussionist Shane Shanahan, Reservoir President Golnar Khosrowshahi, Reservoir COO Rell Lafargue, and Reservoir SVP and General Counsel Jeff McGrath.

Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble surprised fans with an innovative cover of the classic Strayhorn-Ellington standard, “Take The ‘A’ Train”, as the second encore to their performance at Toronto’s Massey Hall last night. Following a standing ovation, the ensemble used its famously unconventional instrumentation to put on a whimsical and wholly original version of the song, to the delight of the crowd. Reservoir President Golnar Khosrowshahi, COO Rell Lafargue, and SVP and General Counsel Jeff McGrath (pictured above) were all in attendance for the historic evening.

In addition to enjoying the nod to Strayhorn’s Centennial year, Reservoir was pleased to take part in organizing the concert, whose proceeds will benefit Silkroad, and private reception in celebration of the launch of the Silkroad Global Advisory Council. Founded in 1998 by Yo-Yo Ma, Silkroad is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to advancing the role of art and culture in 21st-century society, and Reservoir President and Founder Golnar Khosrowshahi serves as its President and Chair. The Global Advisory Council was founded to gather community leaders and philanthropists from around the world to serve as ambassadors on the organization’s behalf.

This week has been an exciting one for Silkroad, as the organization’s documentary The Music Of Strangers made its debut at the Toronto International Film Festival and was simultaneously picked up for worldwide distribution.