July 2021 Member Spotlight - Irina Costei

[Katie Rushing]

Hi PWJ Members! 

This month's spotlight goes to..........

Irina Costei!   @irina C

Please join me in congratulating her!

 

Where are you from?
I live in Canada but I was born in Romania.
 

When did you start playing piano?
I started playing piano at age 11 with classical training. I took a break from 2011-2017. Then I decided to start again with more jazz/contemporary music. It felt like learning a new instrument!
 

What got you interested in learning music?
My parents forced me when I was young. As I got older, I was jealous of seeing other people playing so I decided to get back at it!
 

What is your favorite style of piano music?
Blues.
 

Do you have any favorite pieces to play?
At the moment my favorite piece is Jonny's 1950s Rock and Roll. It's so much fun learning it!

 

What has most helped you most in improving as a pianist?
What helped me the most is learning how to memorize pieces. It used to be a huge challenge for me. Now I have about 8 pieces memorized and my goal is to have about 2h of repertoire memorized.

 

Do you have any tips for other PWJ members?
Don't try to do everything at once. Many times you hear people say to practice this much technique and this much pieces and this much scales and sight reading... As an adult with a full time job it could get overwhelming. I think the idea is to have fun while attempting slightly challenging tunes. I have days where I'm very inspired and I play a lot and other days that I just can't practice, but maybe I'll listen to some music instead.
 

What is your favorite part of the PWJ Membership?
My favorite part of the membership is the video courses (especially the arrangement courses)!
 

What are your future music goals?
My goal is to perform in public for crowds.

[Lee H]

 What...no video ? 😪