Aisha Syed Castro (born September 15, 1989) is a

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...

violinist and a member of the

Yehudi Menuhin School The Yehudi Menuhin School is a specialist music school in Stoke d'Abernon, Surrey, England, founded in 1963 by violinist and conductor Yehudi Menuhin. The current director of music is the British classical pianist Ashley Wass. The school is one ...

orchestra.

Biography

Aisha was born in

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...

, the daughter of Saifuddin Syed, of

Pakistani Pakistanis (, ) are the citizens and nationals of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Pakistan is the fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the second-largest Muslim population as of 2023. As much as ...

descent and Carolina Castro. She is the second of four children. She has three siblings: one sister, Sabah, and two brothers, Kabir and Kareem. She started studying violin and flute when she was four years old at El Hogar de la Armonia in the City of Santiago, Dominican Republic with Professor Henry Disla. Then she traveled twice a week to

Santo Domingo Santo Domingo, formerly known as Santo Domingo de Guzmán, is the capital and largest city of the Dominican Republic and the List of metropolitan areas in the Caribbean, largest metropolitan area in the Caribbean by population. the Distrito Na ...

to take classes with Maestro Hipolito Javier Guerrero, years later became Maestro Caonex Peguero's student . By the age of six she was already a member of the Children's Symphony Orchestra. At 11 she debuted with the National Symphony Orchestra, becoming their youngest solo performer. The same year she attended a symposium on the violin at the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a Private university, private performing arts music school, conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. In 2002, following a two-year audition process, she entered the

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. She was the first Latin American to be admitted to the school. She passed all the tests and secured a scholarship from the

British government His Majesty's Government, abbreviated to HM Government or otherwise UK Government, is the central government, central executive authority of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

. Aisha presently resides in London, and has performed 57 concerts in Europe and the Dominican Republic.

Other performances

In 2001, she performed at the National Theater in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. In 2007 she shared the stage with

Michel Camilo Michel Camilo (born April 4, 1954) is a Dominican pianist and composer. He specializes in jazz, Latin and classical piano work. Background and career Camilo was born into a musical family and as a young child showed aptitude for the accordion ...

Dominican Jazz Player at the Casandra Awards and shared a scene with pianist Jeremy Menuhin. In 2009, she performed at the National Theater in Santo Domingo for the Casandra Awards. In March that year, she shared the stage at the

Eilat Eilat ( , ; ; ) is Israel's southernmost city, with a population of , a busy port of Eilat, port and popular resort at the northern tip of the Red Sea, on what is known in Israel as the Gulf of Eilat and in Jordan as the Gulf of Aqaba. The c ...

Festival in

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

with performers of classical music such as violinist

Julian Rachlin Julian Rachlin (born 8 December 1974) is a Lithuanian-born violinist, violist and conductor. Biography Born in Vilnius to a Jewish family, he emigrated in 1978 with his musician parents to Austria. In 1983, he entered the Konservatorium Wien an ...

, Aleksey Igudessman, Pavel Vernikov and Boris Kushnir. She was directed by

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

and

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

ist

Maxim Vengerov Maxim Alexandrovich Vengerov (; born 20 August 1974) is a Soviet-born Israeli violinist, violist, and conductor. Classic FM has called him "one of the greatest violinists in the world". Vengerov was born in Novosibirsk, the only child of Al ...

. She was later selected by Israeli composer

Noam Sheriff Noam Sheriff (; 7 January 1935 – ) was an Israeli composer, conductor, educator, and arranger. Noam Sheriff was Artistic Director of the Kibbutz Chamber Orchestra, Music Director of the Israel Rishon LeZion Symphony Orchestra, Professor of Co ...

to perform the world premiere of his Concerto Canarian Vespers, at the

Menuhin Festival Gstaad The Menuhin Festival Gstaad is a music festival founded by the violinist Yehudi Menuhin held every summer since 1957 in the Swiss alpine town of Gstaad, after being asked by the director of tourism to "enhance the summer season with some concerts". ...

in July 2009 in Gstaad,

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. As a soloist she has performed in festivals such as

Claygate Claygate is an affluent suburban village in Surrey, England, southwest of central London. It is the only civil parishes in England, civil parish in the borough of Elmbridge. Adjoining Esher and Hinchley Wood to the west and north respectively, ...

, Shipley,

Summer Summer or summertime is the hottest and brightest of the four temperate seasons, occurring after spring and before autumn. At or centred on the summer solstice, daylight hours are the longest and darkness hours are the shortest, with day ...

Royal Tunbridge Wells Royal Tunbridge Wells (formerly, until 1909, and still commonly Tunbridge Wells) is a town in Kent, England, southeast of Central London. It lies close to the border with East Sussex on the northern edge of the Weald, High Weald, whose sand ...

International Music,

Thaxted Thaxted is a town and civil parish in the Uttlesford district of north-west Essex, England. The town is in the valley of the River Chelmer, not far from its source in the nearby village of Debden, and is 97 metres (318 feet) above sea level (w ...

and

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

. Her other performances include fundraising in Europe at The Leatherhead Charities, Princess Trusts, Rainbow and

Save the Children The Save the Children Fund, commonly known as Save the Children, is an international non-governmental organization. It was founded in the UK in 1919; its goal is to improve the lives of children worldwide. The organization raises money to imp ...

. She also performed at the

Royal Festival Hall The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,700-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London, England. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge, in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is a G ...

a concert called "Moving Young Minds". She performed for the Diplomatic Corps in the City of London, for the commemoration of the Independence of the Dominican Republic at the Bolivar Hall.

Awards

In January 2009, Syed won an international contest in which three thousand young people from 20 countries took part. She won the Cassandra 2009 as an International Violinist.

References

External links

*Music at Leamington Hastings
July 12, 2009 program
{{DEFAULTSORT:Syed Castro, Aisha 1989 births Living people People from Santiago de los Caballeros Dominican Republic violinists People educated at Yehudi Menuhin School 21st-century violinists Dominican Republic people of Spanish descent Dominican Republic people of Pakistani descent