Violinist Mariela Shaker to Perform at DCCC

February 27, 2018 – Davidson County Community College will host Syrian violinist Mariela Shaker on March 1. She will perform in the Reich Auditorium, on the Davidson campus, beginning at 11:00 a.m. This event is free and open to the public.

Shaker is a Christian refugee who fled the war-torn city of Aleppo, Syria, in 2013 with the help of a music scholarship to Monmouth College in Illinois. Shaker earned her Bachelor’s degree in liberal arts and music and then went on to DePaul University to work towards earning her Master’s in music. During her time in the United States, Shaker has become an advocate for peace in her home country.

“I will keep performing to tell the story of my suffering city and people. I am so keen to deliver a beautiful message through my violin,” Shaker said. “A message of peace over war and love over hatred. May music help healing the pain our world has felt.”

Shaker has performed and spoken at the Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, Pentagon Conference, United Nations in Geneva and New York City, Scotland’s Beyond Boarders International Festival and many other prestigious locations.

Shaker says she feels powerless to change the current tragedy of her home.

“I believe so much in the power of music to remove barriers between people and nations,” Shaker said. “It is the bridge which has brought me to this country.”

She will continue her work of advocacy for her Syrian colleagues and friends who are still suffering through music as she performs at DCCC.