Description

Founder and director of Highams Park Music Academy in London, Syrian American violinist and motivational keynote speaker Mariela Shaker believes that music is a tool that can be used to bring people from different backgrounds together to achieve peace and love in the world. Currently, Shaker teaches the violin at Knox College and Monmouth College in Illinois. She strives to inspire her students to express themselves freely and to find their own unique voice as performance artists. Her engagements include an invitation by Cate Blanchett and the First Minister of Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon, for performances in London and at the Beyond Borders International Festival in Scotland, respectively. On the invitation of the International Rescue Committee, Shaker performed for Her Majesty Queen Rania of Jordan. The Dialogues Speaker Series is open to guests from the local community.