Usman Peguero's ('15 M.M.) violin has become his passport to the world.

Peguero took up the instrument in his native Dominican Republic as a child. He joined his country's National Youth Orchestra, which enabled him to travel around the world and make friends. He then left his country to attend Florida International University and perform in the Youth Orchestra of the Americas and graduated from their Global Leaders Program.

Now Peguero, who earned his master's in violin performance at UNT, is a member of the Ulster Orchestra in Belfast in Northern Ireland and the Chineke! Orchestra, which is Europe's first black and minority orchestra.

"We are bringing to the concert halls some much-needed fresh air in the classical music scene, breaking long-established socioeconomic and cultural barriers," he says. "When performing with ensembles which promote diversity, their audiences also resemble this. I am pleased to see that the concert experience becomes much richer and vibrant."