 Stephanie Nash plays at MEISA UNPLUGGED Saturday. Photo by Casey Gahagan | The Appalachian In shock, Nash graced the stage, one last time, with an encore performance.
“It was an honor to even be on the stage tonight with the talent that was up there, and it was an honor to make it into the top three,” she said.
Last semester, approximately 20 students and community members auditioned for a place in the competition. MEISA members judged each performance and narrowed to the lineup to eight finalists.
The eight performers were then narrowed to three and a final winner was chosen by a set of three judges. The winner will work with Split Rail Records, Appalachian State University’s recording company, to produce a five-song extended play record.
Alumna and previous MEISA president Alicia N. Torres was chosen to be one of the judges. She now works in Nashville’s entertainment industry.
The judges, she said, based their decision on four main criteria: songwriting, originality, performance and marketability.
Fellow judge and assistant music professor Scott D. Wynne attributed stage presence, personal appearance and charisma with the audience, also, as important qualities.
Nash, who graduated from a musical theater conservatory in New York, exhibited her talent by varying her songs from piano to guitar. She believes the song that allowed her to win was her guitar piece, “The Thought of Leaving Here.”
She finished writing the song last week and considers it a bookend piece to a collection of songs she has written for a concept album.
“Last year, I was on a songwriting frenzy, [when] I probably wrote 30 songs or more,” she said.
Three years out of college and now living in Boone, Nash writes music for fun. In the future, she plans to join the Army.
After playing two instruments and delivering her music with enthusiasm, Torres and Wynne agreed that Nash stood out most.
“When she was singing the second song, you could definitely feel her anger and frustration,” Wynne said. “When she sang the third song, you could see the humor in it. She was able to cut across to the audience and get the story across, which I think is important for any songwriter.”
Story: DEEANNA HANEY, Lifestyles Reporter
Photo: CASEY GAHAGAN, Photographer
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