Mariela Shaker is a violinist, and is currently studying towards a Masters degree in music at DePaul University in Chicago. She started playing the violin at the age of 10, when she joined the Arabic Institute of Music in Aleppo in 1999, graduating with distinctions in 2004. She took part in many concerts and festivals in Syria, including at the St Ephrem Syriac Orthodox Cathedral. In 2013, she received a scholarship to study at Monmouth College in Illinois, where she went on to receive a bachelors in Music Performance, and also served as concert master for the Monmouth College Chamber Orchestra. In 2015, she gave a recital at the Kennedy Centre, and has has also performed at the White House, the Pentagon, the United Nations, and the Arab American Institute.