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SPEAKER: Gaelynn Lea's life is busy these days. The Duluth fiddler recently won NPR's Tiny Desk contest and as a result, is embarking on a tour of major cities across the country. Marianne Combs paid Lee a visit. She has this report on how Lee is using the exposure both to build her career and raise awareness about issues for people with disabilities.

GAELYNN LEA: [INAUDIBLE]

[VIOLIN MUSIC]

MARIANNE COMBS: Gaelynn Lea teaches fiddle and violin lessons in a studio in Duluth's Canal Park. In a brightly lit room with a beautiful view, she works through a piece with student Rachel Johnson. Lea, who works with about 15 students, a week, has been playing the violin since fifth grade.

GAELYNN LEA: I originally wanted to play the cello, but it's too big because of my size. And so the teacher and I figured out a way to play the violin like a cello.

MARIANNE COMBS: Lea and her violin are about the same height. She was born with a genetic disorder called osteogenesis imperfecta, more commonly referred to as oi or brittle bone disease.

GAELYNN LEA: My bones are actually not too fragile, like I've broken maybe 16 since I was born, which is actually a very low number for people with my disability. The biggest thing with my disability is that I broke a lot in utero, so my arms and legs are bent. And my spine has a lot of scoliosis, and so it makes it so that I use a wheelchair.

MARIANNE COMBS: Lee's condition might inspire pity in some people, but that would be a mistake. She has a full, rich life. She graduated from college with a major in political science and a minor in psychology. Two years ago, she married her longtime sweetheart.

And then there's her rising star as a musician. A few years back, a band Lea was in opened for local guitarist Charlie Parr. Lea joined him for a set on her fiddle. That weekend, he performed again at a farmers market where she worked.

GAELYNN LEA: So I secretly brought my violin, but I hid it because I was like, I don't want to be that person, you know. I don't know. It was silly.

But I hid my violin. And he was playing and he's like, "Hey, do you have your fiddle?" And I was like, "Well, yes, I do have my fiddle."

MARIANNE COMBS: Also at the farmer's market that day was Alan Sparhawk of the band Low. He was struck by Lee's ability to play by ear, something he says is relatively rare in a violinist. He invited her to work with him on a project, and soon their band, Murder of Crows, was born.

ALAN SPARHAWK: A lot of times we're just kind of throwing fragments back and forth and kind of playing off of very simple ideas and the ability to trust each other, you know, it can be very freeing.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

MARIANNE COMBS: With Sparhawk's encouragement, Lee began writing her own song lyrics and experimenting with an effects pedal to loop melodies. Friends and students told her about NPR'S Tiny Desk Contest and encouraged her to submit a song.

GAELYNN LEA: So we picked out a song. My friend helped me tape it up in the studio where we are right now-- right before half-price one night. And we did the video in maybe 45 minutes and entered it. And I never-- I just never thought, I mean, no clue did I think that I would win.

[GAELYNN LEA, "SOMEDAY WE'LL LINGER IN THE SUN"] And I love you.

MARIANNE COMBS: Lea did win the contest, and now close to half a million people have seen her videotaped performance at MPR's headquarters in Washington. The prize for winning also includes a national tour.

GAELYNN LEA: I'm really excited because as a person with a disability, like, it's a little bit more planning and it requires a travel companion. But I don't think it's impossible. And I think it's important for people to see it too, you know, to, like, know that it is possible.

MARIANNE COMBS: In addition to her musical career, Lea speaks regularly about issues affecting people with disabilities, from job discrimination to building accessibility. When asked how her genetic disability has affected her musical career, Lea pauses to think.

GAELYNN LEA: I don't really separate out what is disability and what's not because it's just me. I do definitely feel like I'm supposed to be the way I am because none of this would be happening in the way that it was if I didn't have a disability. But in terms of like, do I feel like life would be different? Yes. And do I think that it might not even be as positive in a weird way? Like, yeah.

Gaelynn Lea's solo album is called All the Roads that Lead Us Home. Covering the arts, I'm Marianne Combs, Minnesota Public Radio News.