Irene Xu

My name is Irene and I’m 9 years old. My favorite color is green and dragons are my favorite mythical animal. My hobbies are playing piano, drawing, dancing, reading, playing badminton, and singing. I go to Herbert Hoover Elementary School as my morning school and 9-Fruits Bilingual School as an after school.

Piano, as a hobby of mine, has been comforting during times and able to show my emotions when playing a piece. My favorite composers are Frederick Chopin and Dmitri Shostakovich. I like playing nocturnes, sonatas, and concertos. Currently I’m playing Chopin’s Nocturne No.20 in C sharp minor. I enjoy how each and every piano piece has its own mood and characteristics.

I started playing piano in 2018 and I have enjoyed playing piano ever since. I learn piano with Dr. Wenchun Ku. I won 2nd place in the United States Open Music Competition, 3rd place in the New Star Piano competition, 2nd place in the United States International Music Competition, and I had outstanding performances in the Junior Bach Festival.

You can find Irene’s 2022 Baroque Music Competition piano performance here.