Berklee Ensemble for Musicians with Disabilities 'Is Stronger for Our Differences'

Violinist Adrian Anantawan has performed for the Pope, for the Dalai Lama, and at the White House. The strings professor, who was born with a congenital disability to his right hand, also founded Berklee’s Music Inclusion Ensemble, where students with mental and physical disabilities gather to perform. The ensemble had its first performance in April 2024.

“The general philosophy of the group is that we’re stronger for our differences, rather than in spite of them,” Anantawan tells NPR’sWorld Cafe podcast(Opens in a new window).

“Music is inherently humanizing and a way for us to feel whole and complete,” he says. “It’s really lovely to see all of these musicians feel safe in this environment and supported, but also not center the disability itself—just the excellence in the music making.”

Anantawan and the Music Inclusion Ensemble have also been featured on Good Morning America(Opens in a new window) and in the Boston Globe(Opens in a new window), helping spread the word to the country and other musicians that “we exist,” as he tells NPR, and that “they might want to join or audition or just lend their voices to something that feels bigger.”

Watch Good Morning America's feature on Anantawan: 

The ensemble also hopes to perform, as well as host workshops and seminars, outside of Boston in the future.

“Music is uniquely powerful because it’s a language that embraces difference and no matter how you express yourself, that is the right thing to express,” Anantawan says. “Music can transcend boundaries in ways some languages can’t.”

The Music Inclusion Ensemble next performs at the Berklee Performance Center on April 12, 2025, at 7:00 p.m. Get tickets here.