Irena is a multilingual music teacher with 10+ years of music teaching experience in
Macedonia and New Zealand in primary, secondary, tertiary, and community settings. She has
performed extensively as a chorister, pianist and conductor across Europe and New Zealand.
Irena is currently pursuing her doctoral research at The University of Auckland, focusing on
cultural diversity in/through music education.
Irena believes music is for everyone and focuses on inclusion, learning and understanding
through music sharing in her lessons. Her priority is to form a good relationship and mutual
trust with her students, which will encourage a safe space for trying out new performance
techniques, collaborations, discussions, and approaches to developing their musicianship.
Her pedagogical practice is underpinned by culturally responsive teaching, empowering
students to engage with music intellectually, emotionally, and socially by acknowledging
various viewpoints and perspectives. This pedagogy acknowledges students as members of
multiple cultural contexts and encourages them to develop and nurture artistic imagination and
creativity.
