Posture, memorization, tempo, dynamics, pedal, expression. All these aspects are crucial to playing piano. And every professional pianist is trained to flow with the music.

NHS senior Irina Ten has mastered these techniques. Anyone, musical or not, can tell she knows what she is doing from a mile away. She starts off a song with perfect posture, her fingers dancing on the keys, leans in when the notes get softer, leans back when the notes are loud and faster. And she almost never has music sheets in front of her.B. McBride

Ten started her piano journey when she was five years old and started music school in Siberia, Russia when she was six years old. Ten was born and raised in Russia until she came to America at age eighteen. From the start she fell in love with piano, but mastering the instrument was a lot of  hard work.

“My first real teacher was Tatiyana Karpen Ko, and she gave me that feeling of sitting for many many hours and continuously playing the piano,” Ten said. “The first lesson that I had learned was if you want to play, you have to work hard.”

Despite the amount of hard work put into piano through her years of school, she kept it up. Ten practiced six hours each day in addition to her music school which ran from four to eight in the evening.

“When I tell people I practice so much, they think I’m exaggerating. But that is so not true because of the amount of music that you have to memorize,” Ten said. “Normally in Russia, I had a week to learn twelve songs, and then there was a performance and then another week to learn and memorize twelve songs. And these weren’t just songs, they were  ten page pieces.”

After a couple years of this type of practice, Ten’s dedication finally began to pay off.

“My first competition was a huge competition. It was when I was in fifth grade, and I had to fly to another city,” Ten said. “I ended up winning fourth place and instead of being so disappointed and everything, I was motivated to do more,” Ten said.

This competition challenged her to improve her piano skills. One of the judges ended up giving her the best advice she has gotten thus far.

“When I handed him the piece of paper [to be signed,] he said ‘never ever stop playing music and doing what you do,’ and I still have it, and it was so significant for me at that time,” Ten said.

This was not the end of her glory either. Ten competed at this same annual competition again and improved to second place. She also won an international young pianist competition at the age of sixteen.

“The past three years before I moved here were so memorable,” Ten said.

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Before moving to America, Ten finished Russian high school and music school, and attended music college for a year. But she chose to move with her family to Noblesville and create her musical life here.

“To this day, even though I do not have music school anymore, I play for myself,” Ten said. “Now I practice not as much–for only two hours–and it’s not everyday.”

Ten notices a lot of differences in her life with music from moving to America. She is no longer surrounded by a classical music, and she is experiencing new things.

“Here in America, pop culture is heard more on the radio. But in Russia, the classic world is more on the radio so you can hear classical music. In school, you would hear talk about the worldwide competition that happened,” Ten said.

This year, Ten joined the block six advanced piano and electronic keyboard class, which she says was a lot different from what she thought it would be. Debbie Wittstein, the advanced piano teacher at NHS, has noticed a thing or two about Ten’s playing.

     “Irina has been very well trained and approaches each piece with attention to detail both technically and expressively,” Wittstein said. “She definitely has improved as she was challenged to play the score for GODSPELL in the fall musical.”

Ten still tries to make the best of every solo, duet, trio or ensemble that is played in class. Wittstein also notices how the class around her reacts to her skill and how her hard work is contagious.

“Irina’s kind demeanor and willingness to try anything has definitely influenced others in the class,” Wittstein said.

Ten wants to continue her musical lifestyle but is still unsure on her future. The only thing for sure is that piano will somehow be in it.

     “Music is something that identifies me,” Ten said. “It’s inside of me. I am living with music.”