Adam Mandela Walden, cello

Meet Adam

Adam appears on Show 428.

Adam Mandela Walden (cello), 26, was born in Los Angeles, California and began studying the cello at age 6. Diagnosed with moderate/severe autism and epilepsy at age 3, music has long been a source connection and communication for Adam. Currently, Adam is attending Berklee College of Music/Boston Conservatory at Berklee on a full academic scholarship. Adam studied classical cello at The Colburn School for The Performing Arts with Francesca Bori and graduated from Grand Arts/ Ramon C. Contines High School of Visual and Performing Arts. Adam performed with Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles (YOLA). He was featured in HBO’s documentary “Autism The Musical” and “Autism: The Sequel”. Adam is the official ambassador for Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles’ Music Therapy program. Most recently, Adam is composing a spoken word/cello concerto for youth orchestras with Berklee College of Music professor Eugene Freisen. The concerto is based on New York Times Best Seller Naoki Higashida’s The Reason I Jump: The Inner Voice of a Thirteen-Year-Old Boy with Autism.