Berklee Online Student Spotlight: Eirini Tornesaki

For touring musicians, online education is vital. Lessons can be viewed on a laptop screen on an airplane, a tour bus, or backstage at a gig. For online songwriting student Eirini Tornesaki, Berklee Online encourages her to keep improving while she tours with the Cirque du Soleil production Kurios. "Studying online is a great way to keep learning while on tour, when you are lacking the physical environment of a music institute or the consistency of a teacher due to constant relocation. It motivates me to practice daily and makes me feel like part of a community," she said.

Tornesaki, who was born and raised in Greece and later attened school in the UK, plays "Chanteuse de la Rue," the sole vocalist in Kurios. Her resume includes work with Jona Lewie, Saw Doctors, Barry Manilow, Amy Winehouse’s backing band, Yannis Economides, Dimitri Vassilakis, and more. She also recently sang the U.S. National Anthem at Wrigley Field.

"Singing for Cirque Du Soleil has been an incredible experience so far. I wear a cool costume with a gramophone on my head and I had to learn to do my own make-up," Tornesaki said. "I sing nine to ten shows per week and I am the only singer in our show, which means I have to try my hardest to maintain my voice and keep healthy. It’s a challenging lifestyle, but very rewarding and absolutely worth it," she explained.

Read Berklee Online's full interview with Tornesaki here.