Although it has been based in Providence for three years, the artistic collaborative known as the Silk Road Project rarely stays put. Its emphasis, after all, is contact with multiple cultures. Travel is a must. In the 10 years since the project’s founding, musicians of the Silk Road Ensemble have performed in Asia and Europe as well as in cities across America. Last year, the group took its caravan to Chicago.

Happily for southeastern New Englanders, the Silk Road’s 2009 touring season will begin in Providence. FirstWorks, a four-year-old nonprofit organization dedicated to artistic “firsts,” has pulled together support for an appearance at the Providence Performing Arts Center on March 6. The ensemble will round out its schedule with visits to Boston, Washington, Minneapolis and Toronto later in the month.

To complement the PPAC concert, FirstWorks will bring a special Silk Road curriculum into several public schools. In the fall, students in Providence, Pawtucket, Central Falls and Woonsocket will explore the history and culture linked to the ancient Eurasian trade route known as the Silk Road.

Along with musical performers from several nations, the Silk Road Project brings together storytellers, visual artists and composers for mutual inspiration. Students at the Rhode Island School of Design have participated in workshops with ensemble musicians. Last year, during a Providence screening of a 1926 animated film, The Adventures of Prince Achmed, the Silk Road Ensemble performed music that it had written to accompany the story.

The project’s artistic director, legendary cellist Yo-Yo Ma, says he is interested in how the human story flows through history and geography. Music, he says, is just one aspect of that dynamic. The Silk Road Project offers a way of understanding how cultures interact, and influence each other. The PPAC concert will give area residents a taste of what the ensemble has been up to, and acquaint them with instruments not usually seen in American orchestras. It is bound to spice up a usually dreary time of year.

For more information, see www.silkroadproject.org.