Carleton Convo with Mariela Shaker | February 28, 2025

Syrian-American violinist Mariela Shaker delivered Carleton’s convocation address on Friday, February 28 from 10:50 to 11:50 a.m. in Skinner Chapel. Her address is titled, “Tragedy and Triumph: My Bow Bends for Peace.” An internationally recognized violinist and motivational speaker, Shaker was named a Champion of Change for World Refugees by U.S. President Barack Obama in 2015. Shaker strongly believes in music as a tool to bring people from different backgrounds together and to foster peace and love in the world. She uses her music to build bridges, promote peace, and raise awareness for the plight of refugees and vulnerable children around the world. She strives to inspire her students to express themselves freely and to find their own unique voice as performing artists.

Shaker discovered her love of violin in 1999 after joining the Arabic Institute of Music in Aleppo, Syria. After graduating with distinction in 2004, Shaker taught violin at the Institute for five years while earning her degree in business administration at Aleppo University. Shaker received a full scholarship to Monmouth College, a nationally ranked American liberal arts college located in central Illinois, in 2013 for music performance, where she graduated with the highest honor of Excellence in Music Performance. She realized while she was studying at Monmouth that she would not be able to return home to Syria due to the country’s ongoing conflict. After completing her degree at Monmouth, Shaker received a full tuition scholarship to acquire a masters in music performance at Chicago’s DePaul University, from which she graduated in 2017. While in the U.S., she taught violin at Knox College as well as Monmouth, where she also served as the concertmaster for the College’s chamber orchestra. In 2020, Shaker founded the Highams Park Music Academy in London, where she serves as director.

Shaker’s musical accolades are extensive. Her debut as a soloist was on June 20, 2015, at the Kennedy Center, to commemorate World Refugee Day, organized by the United Nations High Commissioner on Refugees (UNHCR). She has performed as a soloist with Mesopotamian Symphony Orchestra at the California Theatre, and before Her Majesty Queen Rania of Jordan. In 2016, Shaker was invited by Cate Blanchett to perform in London, and by the first Scottish Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, at the Beyond Borders International Festival in Scotland. In 2017, she was appointed a UNHCR High Profile Supporter and honored with the Anne Frank Promise Keeper Award in New York City. 

Shaker has also performed at various programs for the United Nations, the White House, the 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 international venues, including venues in the U.K., the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, the U.A.E., Hong Kong, Malaysia, and the U.S. 

Learn more about Carleton Convos at go.carleton.edu/convocations