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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. While in the US, Mariela taught the Violin  at Knox College and Monmouth College in Illinois. Mariela strongly believes in music as a tool to bring people from  

different backgrounds together and to foster peace and love in our world. She 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 completing 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 honors: 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 a 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 a 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 a 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, Yale, Northwestern University, King's College Chapel, and Georgetown  University among other prestigious venues. She has given recitals and masterclasses at more than 200 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. 

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