Meet Silkroad's Spring 2021 Interns
We are delighted to introduce you to four gifted new interns, who have already been hard at work supporting Silkroad staff and artists! Alysha, Mojib, Mikhail, and Relyn were selected as our very first class of BIPOC interns from a pool of 78 applicants.
Please join us in welcoming them to our team! Scroll down to learn more.
Alysha Addetia
Communiations & Operations
"Hello! My name is Alysha Addetia and I am a flute player located in Toronto, Canada. It is a literal dream come true to be able to work with Silkroad and to be able to meet all of the incredible artists that I have admired and followed the work of since Silkroad's founding. It has been an inspiration to me through my entire music career- being the definition of plurality, diversity, and cross-cultural collaboration in music. I am so excited for the opportunity to meet everyone and be able to work with and learn from all of you very soon!“
Alysha Addetia (she/her) is a Canadian flautist and artist educator, performing solo and part of ensembles and orchestras nationally and globally. Most recently, Alysha recorded as part of Monkey Tale and Raghupati on the Toronto Tabla Ensemble’s latest album, Unexpected Guests, and has toured across Canada as the solo flautist in the musical production, Rihla. Notably, she performed at Aiglemont, the estate of His Highness the Aga Khan in France, for His Diamond Jubilee Inauguration as the flautist in a global-membered ensemble. Further, Alysha is an advocate for diversity and a global approach at education, valuing a strong foundation in appreciating diverse cultures from a young age and using music as a means to reach that goal. Alysha has received numerous notable awards for her work in early childhood music education and her interests and research in Ethnomusicology. She holds two degrees from the University of Toronto in Flute Performance and Music Education and has been teaching private woodwind and piano lessons for over 15 years.
MOJIB GHAZNAWI
DEVELOPMENT & FUNDRAISING
“You all inspire me as an artist. My name is Mojib Ghaznawi and I'm a huge fan. Outside of my bio, I love improvisational music, humor, and laughter. I'm actively working on my smile wrinkles by smiling underneath my mask (what a metaphor...), and pre-pandemic I would get my fix through stand-up comedy, hip-hop cyphers, jazz concerts, and contemporary classical music. Ultimately, I love challenging and breaking expectations, especially my own. I'm very interested in the creative processes behind Silkroad programming, recruitment, and funding because I aspire to recreate high caliber programming that goes deeper than entertainment and cultivates introspection on my path through US cultural diplomacy.”
Mojib Ghaznawi is a 2019 Rangel Fellow and currently studying public policy at the Harvard Kennedy School. Upon graduating from HKS, he will join the US Foreign Service as an entry-level diplomat. He grew up in Northern Virginia and attended the Elliott School for International Affairs at the George Washington University in Washington DC. His family is from Russia and Afghanistan, and he is a first-generation American. Mojib’s policy interests include: the role of arts and cultural affairs, spirituality and faith-based peacebuilding, and reforming diversity and inclusion at the State Department. Mojib has worked at the intersection of government and music at the largest musician’s labor union, the DC Commission on Arts and Humanities, for the cultural attaché and media offices of the Afghan Embassy in DC, programming for Reed Society for the Sacred Arts, and conflict resolution in Israel and Palestine through music. Ultimately, his ambition as a US Foreign Service Officer is to work on ensuring lasting peace in Afghanistan. Mojib speaks Arabic, Persian (Dari), Russian, and Spanish fluently.
Fun fact: Mojib is a professional flautist, performing Afghan, Andalusian, Indian, Arabic, and Western classical as well as hip-hop and jazz.
MIKHAIL JOHNSON
Communiations & Operations
“I am Mikhail Johnson. I hail from the Mountain side of Maroon Town in Jamaica. Now I am currently in Lubbock Texas for my doctoral degree in Piano Performance. I am very happy to be joining the Silkroad Team as an intern. I have been a huge fan of the group and have always been an advocate for composers and performers tapping into their cultural heritage to bridge gaps which is why as a composer my style focuses on documenting and perpetuating my Jamaican heritage. I thought it would be a great opportunity to learn from the best organization how to achieve this mission on a larger scale and hope that I’ll have the tools to one day create my own ensemble and organization to further that cause.”
Mikhail Johnson, born in the rural hills of Maldon in the parish of St. James, Jamaica, is one of the country’s most promising pianists and composers. As a pianist he has won several competitions both nationally and internationally which resulted in his debut with the Jamaica Symphony Orchestra and major performances throughout the United States, Greece, and Italy. As a composer, Johnson’s music mixes European classical music and traditional Jamaican culture to, in a minute way, catalogue, preserve and perpetuate a cultural heritage. His compositional output is being published on his own publishing label Johno Muzik and comprises of: sacred and patriotic choral works, African-American spiritual arrangements, song cycles and instrumental works. His unique compositional style has resulted in commissions from universities and music organizations and several performances of his works by the Cleveland Chamber Symphony, The Cantus Ensemble of London, The North/South Consonance Ensemble, The Concordia Ensemble of the University of Notre Dame, Transient Canvas and the Departure Duo. Johnson holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Biological Science and a minor in music from Northern Caribbean University; Double Masters of Music degree in piano performance and composition from Bowling Green State University, and is currently reading for a Doctor of Music in piano performance at Texas Tech University.
RELYN MYRTHIL
PROGRAMMING
“Hello Silkroad! My name is Relyn and I was homeschooled along with my 5 younger siblings in Miami, FL. Besides academics, I had the opportunity to spend hours at art museums and attending master classes from a young age. I also picked up knitting and was an avid reader of the Little House on the Prairie books, Inkheart Trilogy, and Harry Potter. I was drawn to apply for the Silkroad internship because of my investment in diverse and culturally immersive music performance. I was classically trained in violin and viola and had aspirations to become an orchestral conductor with interest in opera, but after a few years working in arts administration with large orchestras such as the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Houston Symphony, I saw what work needed to be done backstage/behind the scenes as well and pivoted my career towards arts management. I hope to one day lead the nation’s orchestras by example to a more equitable and diverse future. Outside of the music industry, I work at a contemporary art gallery on Noepe Island/Martha’s Vineyard and take care of two cats named Milo and Casper. I am looking forward to connecting with each of you!”
Relyn G. Myrthil is an experienced artistic administrator, independent curator, and art + music historian based in Eastern Massachusetts. Myrthil earned her Bachelor’s degree from Mount Holyoke College as a Posse Scholar in Music and Art History with respective concentrations in Orchestral Conducting/Performance and Museum Studies/Black Art. She is also a SphinxConnect Fellowship recipient.
A Miami native, Myrthil began playing violin at the age of 7 and then viola whilst quickly falling in love with the community orchestra and chamber music provided. Throughout her primary and secondary education years, she maintained an active performance career participating in masterclasses and festivals in South Florida with distinguished artists such as Mimi Zweig, the Amernet Quartet, Bergonzi Quartet, and the New World Symphony. She chose to expand her skill set in college by stepping to the podium and picking up the baton. Additionally, Myrthil became heavily involved with her alma mater’s campus art museum and curated numerous Afro-centric and musical exhibitions. After graduating in the spring of 2019, she has held prominent positions with leading arts organizations such as the Pioneer Valley Symphony Orchestra, Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, and the Boston Symphony Orchestra at the Tanglewood Music Festival. Most recently, she served as the Assistant Orchestra Personnel Manager of the Houston Symphony. Myrthil’s professional interests lie in bringing about arts equity and diversity both on and off stage as well as within the walls of museums at the c-suite level. Currently, she works as a research assistant for acclaimed curator and scholar, Stephanie Sparling-Williams.