reporter: 11 year old ashton kiprotich on the cello. and the ukulele. ashton, i saw you play the cello and i saw you play the ukulele. which is your favorite? >> both of them. reporter: both of them! >> i would never say that i dislike them. reporter: 24 year old shania ward on the keytar, her mother donna gibbons-ward watching. every time i see you performing, you're smiling. you have a beautiful smile. >> thank you. why are you smiling so much? are you happy with the music? >> yes, i'm happy with the music. >> music is her thing. she listens to it all the time. reporter: why do you think music became her thing? >> i think it helped her to -- >> helped me to learn. reporter: music for learning, connecting, for sheer joy. shania and ashton are students at this is the berklee institute for accessible arts education, part of the berklee college of music in boston. founded in 2007, it started small with a focus on autism, but has expanded to serve more than 300 people of all ages with disabilities of all kinds. >> every person can learn in the arts, can gro