I am friendly, sincere, and patient, and I am respected among my true friends. I consider myself to have refined tastes, perhaps exaggerated, with tendencies toward stubbornness. I am a vibrant personality with good organizational skills. I try to be diligent, responsible, and to see things through to the end.
I don’t know exactly when I joined “Plăieșii,” but I do remember when I first met Maestro Nicolae Gribincea. It happened in 1993 at School No. 9 in Chișinău. At that time, I was part of a children’s dance and song ensemble. I lost contact with him in 1996 when I was transferred to another school.
However, to my delight, we ran into each other by chance in the city, and he invited me to join another ensemble he led — “Stejăreii,” affiliated with the Gheorghe Asachi High School. Of course, I gladly accepted, and after that ensemble was disbanded, he invited me to join the “Plăieșii” ensemble. To describe this group, I would use the words: authenticity, soul, sincerity, dedication, and professionalism. I cherish all our songs because we don’t just perform them — we put our hearts into them, leaving a piece of ourselves in every sung verse.
Mr. Nicolae Gribincea is a role model in every respect. For me, he is a father figure who positively influenced my education, behavior, and life experience. He instilled in our character certain principles that we all respect. Every member of the ensemble behaves decently, is well organized, and has a healthy attitude toward their work. Every member came to “Plăieșii” out of love for folklore, not out of self-interest.
It is well known that most of the ensemble’s songs are collected from people. The purpose of the expeditions is to gather folklore from informants, select, process, adapt, and present it back to the people to ensure continuity.
Traditional costume, for me, is a state of mind — our calling card wherever we go in the world.
“Good people always gather for a witty word, a rich table, a glass of honor, and good music, because that never hurts,” as Nicolae Gribincea says. The audience of “Plăieșii” is the most wonderful, sincere, and beautiful. After all, the audience is the one who chooses, and we have already made our choice. As Maestro Gribincea says: “Every listener surely finds a song for their soul in the repertoire of ‘Plăieșii.’”