Yann Chemali was born in Cleveland, Ohio and has been playing cello since the age of four. At the age of 12, Yann and his family moved to Virginia Beach, Virginia, where he attended the Governor's School for the Arts. Yann completed his undergraduate in Music Performance at McGill University, where he studied under the tutelage of Matt Haimovitz. While at McGill, Yann participated in Haimovitz's cello ensemble, UCello, and has given performances in Los Angeles, Toronto, Montreal, and Berlin. In conjunction with cello, Yann is also interested in sciences and hopes to one day attend medical school.