RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, Aisha Syed-Castro was born in Santiago, Dominican Republic on September 15, 1989. Described by the press in three continents as a "virtuoso" (Lietuvos Rytas in Lithuania, Frankfurt Neue Presse in Germany, Time Out Magazine and The National in the UAE, Lokal-Nachrichten in Bern, Switzerland), a "deeply gifted artist" (Ft. Lauderdale Connex in Florida), and "one of the youngest and most talented ambassadors of the violin in the world" (Live Out Loud Magazine in Los Angeles, California), Aisha became the first Latina to attend the child prodigy Yehudi Menuhin School in England where she also studied at the Royal College of Music with a full scholarship by the Soiree d'Or committee; and,
WHEREAS, Aisha Syed-Castro has performed as a soloist at the Luxembourg Palace in Paris, the Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi, the Palace of the Grand Dukes in Vilnius, the Palacio de Linares in Madrid, the Fontainebleau Palace in Fontainebleau, the National Philharmonic Hall in Vilnius, the headquarters of the Organization of American States in Washington DC, the Wigmore Hall in London, the Kauffman Hall in New York, the Clairmont Hall in Tel-Aviv, the Broward Center for the Performing Arts in Florida, the Yehudi Menuhin Forum in Bern, the Barocksaal in Vienna among many other halls; and,
WHEREAS, Also as a soloist, she has performed in many festivals including the Abu Dhabi Music Festival, the Banstead Arts Festival, the Leamington Hastings festival, the Yehudi Menuhin International Music Festival in Gstaad, Switzerland, the Santo Domingo Music Festival, the Gaida Contemporary Music Festival (where she gave the worid premiere of the Alguirdas Martinaitits violin concerto, dedicated to her, at the National Philharmonic Hall with the Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra in Vilnius), the CICA International Music Festival in Texas, and at the Fontainebleau Summer Music Festival by personal invitation of its Artistic Director Phillipe Entremont. Her live performance of "La Campanella" by Niccolo Paganini on BBC Radio 3 was included in the prestigious classical music list "Performing Miracles" by the BBC; and,
WHEREAS, Aisha Syed-Castro was a soloist with the Symphony of the Americas, the Kristoforo Orchestra, the Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra, the Yehudi Menuhin School Orchestra, the Dominican Symphony Orchestra, the CICA International Music Festival Symphony Orchestra, among others. Among the conductors she has worked are James Brooks, Carlos Piantini, Phillip Entremont, Jose Antonio Molina, Alvaro Manzano, Mstlav Rostropovich, and many others; and,
WHEREAS, Aisha Syed-Castro has won numerous prizes including three Premio Soberano Awards in 2013, 2014, and 2015 as Classical Artist Abroad, the Casandra Award 2009 as Classical Artist Abroad, the Latin Pride National Award 2009 in Boston MA, USA, the Game Changer Award by the Keep Walking woridwide campaign in 2014, and others; and,
WHEREAS, In 2014 she was made the youngest ever Honorary Professor of the Arts Faculty at the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo. In May 2015 she became, along with conductor Gustavo Dudamel, an Ambassador for LEALA, which was founded to promote the Spanish language and Latin American culture across the United States. In 2010 she co-founded in the Dominican Republic the Music for Life Foundation, which aims to bring classical music to those whom, for social, economic, or health reasons cannot access it. Aisha was recently designated Honorary Goodwill Ambassador for the Dominican Republic by his Excellency and current President Danilo Medina.
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WHEREAS, The violins she performs on are the extraordinary 1690 "Stephens" Stradivarius and an Antonius Pelizon, both kindly provided by Florian Leonhard Fine Violins. Aisha is currently on her Heritage World Tour with which she will do presentations in Europe, Latin America, and the United States. Aisha is a devout Christian and dedicates all her performances to God, and now therefore,
WHEREAS, On October 18, 2019, Aisha Syed-Castro will be performing with Mr. Martin Labazevith at the Dominican American Midwest Association's twentieth anniversary. The Dominican American Midwest Association (DAMA) promotes cultural awareness and the advancement of education of the Dominican community of great Chicago; and now therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED, That we, the Mayor and members of the City Council of the City of Chicago, gathered here this eighteenth day of September 2019 A.D., do hereby congratulate Aisha Syed-Castro on her accomplishments; and,
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be prepared for presentation to Aisha Syed-Castro and the Dominican American Midwest Association.