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He only has one hand, but Boynton Beach teen plays magic on this difficult musical instrument
BOYNTON BEACH — Recent Palm Beach Central High School graduate Alex Rodriguez, 18, sits in his Boynton Beach living room, a University of Florida flag draped over a chair and his custom-made euphonium resting nearby on its stand.
When asked about his 'condition' — being born without a full left arm — he responds with genuine confusion: 'What condition?'
'I was born that way, that's it,' he said, with a shrug that suggests the conversation should probably move on to something more interesting.
Rodriguez is a recipient of Palm Beach Symphony's 2025 Lisa Bruna B-Major Award, an annual competition for high school seniors who want to pursue music education but who face financial barriers. Winners are given professional instruments to use for their college auditions.
Rodriguez was one of three winners this year, but his prize required special engineering. The symphony gifted him a euphonium, a brass instrument in the same family as the tuba that typically requires both hands: Three valves controlled by one hand, one valve by the other.
'It's a completely different sound,' Rodriguez said when comparing the euphonium with the tuba. 'The tuba is deeper and the euphonium is higher.'
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Unlike the standard euphonium, the one Rodriguez received has all of the valves on the same side so that it can be played using solely his right hand — a custom modification to an instrument that typically costs about $8,000.
'[Alex] is absolutely deserving of the recognition he received,' said Bryce Selinger, the symphony's education and programming associate and one of the competition's judges. 'He inspires others to meet their own potential because he has such a difficult circumstance and is such an overachiever that he has reached goals that fully able-bodied people wouldn't typically do.'
To win the award, students need to show talent, financial need and academic excellence. Participants also needed to submit a résumé and letter of recommendation. 'Even if he wasn't disabled, he would have won this competition,' Selinger said. 'And I hate to say 'disabled,' because it's really just something he overcomes.'
Rodriguez puts it simply: 'It's not like a struggle. People think 'Oh, you struggle so much.' No, it's not [like that].'
The award also came with an invitation to perform in the symphony's inaugural community side-by-side concert at the Kravis Center on May 19, where 72 professional musicians were paired with 108 community players ranging from 11 to 81 years old.
Rodriguez performed on trombone rather than euphonium — orchestras rarely include euphoniums, and trombone is the closest related instrument, he said. The 181-person ensemble tackled Johannes Brahms' "Academic Festival Overture," a piece that Selinger said demands technical skill and musical maturity.
This was Rodriguez's first performance with the symphony, but nowhere near the first he's ever done.
Rodriguez didn't discover music through some profound calling or family tradition. His path to the euphonium began with movie soundtracks.
'It's nothing elaborate, nothing special,' he said. 'Hearing [music from] 'Star Wars,' 'Jurassic Park,' that sounds cool. I want to do that.' What started as a sixth-grader's fascination with John Williams led to a recommendation from his high school music director to try the euphonium.
Before receiving a custom-made horn, Rodriguez played intermediate-level instruments with valves positioned on top rather than on the side, making playing one-handed possible.
'I just do it. I just change it up, get better,' he said.
This approach has served him well beyond music. Rodriguez also holds a black belt in karate, earned in November 2023 after starting the martial art at age 4. He also maintains a 4.7 weighted GPA and was accepted into every college he applied to.
His mother watches him assemble furniture by holding pieces with his feet.
'He's just adaptable,' Joyce Rodriguez, his mother, said. 'He figures out how to do everything.'
Alex wore a prosthetic arm when he was younger — a harness-like device that needed specific movements to open and close an artificial hand; however, he abandoned it years ago and has no plans to reconsider.
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The only real challenge he acknowledges comes in karate, during grappling exercises that typically require grabbing with both hands.
'He uses his body or legs more,' Joyce said.
Alex practices about an hour daily — though his father insists it's more — and plays occasionally with friends.
He said he chose the University of Florida over Florida State University, the University of Central Florida and Florida Atlantic University based primarily on academics. He'll start classes June 30, joining what he describes as a small but focused music program.
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'[The music program] is a little bit smaller but that means it's more tight-knit,' Rodriguez said.
This summer, he will attend the International Euphonium and Tuba Festival in Atlanta, a weeklong gathering of low-brass players from around the world.
In terms of long-term goals, Rodriguez keeps his options open.
'I might decide to go for a doctorate and go to FSU for music education because their music education program is really good. Or who knows, I might decide to go back to UF or a different college and do trombone,' he said.
Whatever his future path, his achievements so far are a constant source of inspiration to his family.
'It's always been a recurring thing: If Alex can do it, I can do it,' Joyce said.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Boynton musician, born with one hand, plays his custom-made euphonium
