Mariela Shaker
“Fled Syria and Found Refuge on the Stage.
Mariela Shaker is singular. A virtuoso.”
-- BuzzFeed.
Syrian American Mariela Shaker is an international award winning violinist and motivational keynote speaker. She is the founder and director of Highams Park Music Academy in London. Mariela is a Violin faculty at Knox College and Monmouth College since 2018. Mariela strongly believes in music as a tool to bring people from different backgrounds together and to fashion peace and love in our world. Mariela strives to inspire her students to express themselves freely and to find their own unique voice as performing artists.
Mariela began playing the violin after joining the Arabic Institute of Music in Aleppo in 1999. She graduated with distinction from the Institute in 2004 and taught violin there for five years while she completed her Business Administration degree at Aleppo University. In 2013, Mariela received a full-tuition scholarship to study Music Performance at Monmouth College in the US. Prior to graduating, Monmouth College bestowed upon her one of its highest honours: Excellence in Music Performance. Following her Bachelor of Arts, DePaul University awarded her a full-tuition academic scholarship for her Master’s in Music Performance.
Mariela served as Concertmaster for the Monmouth College Chamber Orchestra. She appeared as solo concert violinist with the Mesopotamian Symphony Orchestra at the California Theater; and, organized by the United Nations High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR), gave her debut recital at the Kennedy Center to commemorate World Refugee Day on June 20, 2015. President Obama named her Champion of Change for World Refugees and honored her at the White House in 2015. During that same year, she also performed for members of the U.S. Legislature.
Her engagements in 2016 included an invitation by Cate Blanchett and the first Scottish Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, for performances in London and at the Beyond Borders International Festival in Scotland, respectively. On the invitation of the International Rescue Committee, she performed for Her Majesty Queen Rania of Jordan. In 2017, Mariela was appointed UNHCR High Profile Supporter and was also honored with the Anne Frank Promise Keeper Award in New York City.
Her more recent performances have included programs at the United Nations, the White House, Aspen Ideas Festival, Harvard University, MIT, King's College Chapel and Georgetown University among other prestigious venues. She has given recitals and masterclasses at more than 120 venues in the UK, Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, UAE, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and all over the US. Mariela prides herself on her mission: to use her music to build bridges, to promote peace and to raise awareness for the plight of refugees and vulnerable children. Mariela’s remarkable work ensures that not only her music, but also her voice be heard around the world for people in need.
