Musical Ability

Donna Scott’s passion for special education in music led to a shared GRAMMY nomination, neurodivergent music education

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Musical Ability

Donna Scott’s (CFA’27) passion for special education in music led to a shared GRAMMY nomination

May 31, 2026
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Donna Scott knows a lot about leaps of faith. She took one in the mid-2000s, when, as an advertising, film, and television executive, she accepted a position as a part-time music teacher in Mount Clemens, Mich. Two decades later, Scott is a multi-instrumentalist and music educator with four studio albums and one precious Teacher of the Year award to her name.

In 2024, Scott (’27) enrolled in CFA’s online program in music education. She credits one of her courses, Supporting Students with dis/Abilities in Music, for her newfound passion for reaching neurodivergent students through music.

“If I had taken this class years ago, I would have majored in special education,” says Scott. “It was so profound.”

Her second leap of faith came a year later, when she was asked by Chris Redding, a new-age R&B artist and neurodiversity advocate, to provide backing vocals on a track for his upcoming album The Colors in My Mind.

“If it had been any other album, I’d have said no, because I was hoping to take a break from the music industry,” Scott says. “But because of the neurodiversity connection, I said yes.”

In November, the album was nominated for a GRAMMY in the category of Best New Age, Ambient, Or Chant Album. Scott’s track, “Love Cure” (also featuring Lachi, a blind singer/songwriter), is its most listened-to song on streaming services. CFA spoke to Scott in February, shortly before the 2026 GRAMMY Awards

When did you start playing music professionally?

I’d been playing trombone for a year and a half, and I remember watching this jazz pianist, Joe Semple, and thinking, “Man, I wish I could be onstage with him.” Years later, he decided to start a community band and needed a bass trombonist. It was so wonderful; for three years, I sat under my idol and we just played everything.

Tell me about the course that changed everything.

It changed how I saw everything. After taking the class, I realized the ways that the [room] was setting these kids off—like, I had kids sitting near brightly colored displays that threw their senses off. It identified [how to] create the least restrictive learning environment. Most teachers aren’t doing that because they’re not being taught to do that.

How did that lead you to a collaboration with Chris Redding?

Chris has done so much work around autism advocacy, speaking across the world. One day on Instagram, he sent me a video of his son, who is autistic and nonverbal, speaking for the first time. I mentioned the class to him, and he said he was doing this album and wondered if I’d be a guest on it. I was also introduced to Lachi, who is also one of the producers, and it just opened me up to a whole deeper world of creativity in neurodiversity.

Did the GRAMMY nomination surprise you?

I told my husband, “I ain’t getting no nomination.” And then I saw on Instagram that people were celebrating, and I started jumping up and down for joy. I will beat the ceremony, and I’m going to give a big shout-out to BU, because if I hadn’t taken that class, this wouldn’t have happened.

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  • Sophie Yarin

    Associate Editor

    Sophie Yarin is a BU Today associate editor. She graduated from Emerson College's journalism program and has experience in digital and print publications as a hybrid writer/editor. Profile