Walker’s Student Performs Original Piece at Columbia University’s 2026 #FeelTheMusic Concert

At Columbia University’s 2026 #FeelTheMusic concert, In Tune with Humanity — an accessibility-focused performance hosted by the Deaf Education Program at Columbia University’s Teachers College — Victoria Qu ’28 was invited to take the stage as the only Hearing high school student performer.

Presenting her original song I Have a Friend from her original musical Rhythm, Victoria performed in collaboration with a student artist from the American School for the Deaf, a partnership she initiated to bring Deaf and Hearing young performers together on one stage. This partnership was made possible through the support and guidance of both school communities, whose leadership helped foster a meaningful exchange across cultures.

Through Victoria’s original song I Have a Friend, the song not only tells the story of friendship but also explores identity, belonging, and the relationship between Deaf and Hearing cultures. It reflects on what it means to truly connect across different ways of experiencing the world.

The concert challenges traditional ideas of music through American Sign Language (ASL), movement, rhythm, and vibration, the performance transforms music into a multi-sensory experience. The audience did not simply listen — they experienced the rhythm, witnessed the connection, and felt the music.

Sharing the stage with artists connected to Broadway and the Deaf arts community, the event highlights accessibility not as accommodation, but as innovation.

Through this work, Victoria continues to create spaces where Deaf and Hearing artists collaborate as equals, telling stories that move beyond sound, and into connection.