Inside Musicians with Disabilities

Violinist/disability activist Julia LaGrand brings us inside From the Top’s Musicians with Disabilities Initiative. Enjoy this behind-the-scenes look at the recording of From the Top’s 2026 Musicians with Disabilities broadcast and related performance and panel event. 

Julia, along with From the Top host Peter Dugan, meets four young musicians who share incredible performances and speak candidly about their journeys as musicians navigating disability.

Featured young artists include:

19-year-old violinist Alexander McDowell from Durham, North Carolina

18-year-old composer Kiefer Bernard from Montclair, New Jersey

22-year-old French Horn player Macy James from Kalamazoo, Michigan

14-year-old percussionist Zion Giles from Chicago, Illinois

This effort builds on a multi-faceted initiative originally launched by From the Top in 2023 to increase inclusivity and transparency for musicians with disabilities. Central to this work is From the Top alumna and violinist Julia LaGrand, 21, who first brought this vision to the organization after sharing her story as a blind musician on the program in 2021. Julia serves as co-host, content advisor, and associate producer at From the Top.

Learn more about From the Top’s Musicians with Disabilities Initiative at https://fromthetop.org/MWD

Produced with Vanishing Angle.

SPECIAL THANKS

Access/VSA, A Jean Kennedy Smith Arts and Disability Program

Berklee College of Music

GBH

Think Outside the Vox

THANK YOU TO THE GENEROSITY OF:

Jack Kent Cooke Foundation

Howard and Geraldine Polinger Family Foundation

The Volgenau Foundation

National Endowment for the Arts

Mass Cultural Council

The Hamilton Company Charitable Foundation

& the many individuals who support From the Top