Julia LaGrand, Co-Host/Content Advisor

Latest News

Julia was featured in The Boston Globe. Read here.

Meet Julia

Julia LaGrand appeared on Show 395, airing February 15, 2021. She is a Co-Host, Content Advisor, and Associate Producer for From the Top’s Celebration of Musicians with Disabilities. In 2023, she co-hosted Show 428 and moderated a panel called “Disability and Classical Music Today”. In 2026, she’s working on a new broadcast with From the Top and will moderate a panel event in Boston in March 2026.

Julia LaGrand is a violinist and disability activist from Grand Rapids, Michigan. She has soloed with orchestras including the Holland Symphony, Kent Philharmonic and Baroque on Beaver Festival Orchestra, and has played in masterclasses for artists including Midori, Stefan Jackiw, and the Jasper String Quartet. In 2020, she won first prize at the Bella International Music Competition, and was a winner of the Kennedy Center’s 2024 International Young Musicians Competition. After appearing on NPR’s From the Top in 2021, she later co-hosted and co-created an episode of the show featuring young disabled musicians, which was featured in the Boston Globe as one of the “10 Most Memorable Classical Music Moments of 2023.” Based in Boston, she attends Harvard University’s dual degree program with New England Conservatory, and performs with local ensembles and organizations including Shelter Music Boston and the Berklee Inclusion Ensemble. She currently studies with Miriam Fried.

Bio from 2021

Julia LaGrand (violin), 16, is a junior at Grand Rapids Christian High School in her hometown of Grand Rapids, Michigan. She studies violin with Danielle Belen at the University of Michigan and is a member of the Grand Rapids Musicians’ League. Julia has performed as a soloist with the Grand Rapids Classical Orchestra and was recently named winner of the Bella International Music Competition. She is also passionate about advocacy for blind students and performing artists.