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Tuesday, 02 March 2010 20:55 |
 Stephanie Nash plays at MEISA UNPLUGGED Saturday. Photo by Casey Gahagan | The Appalachian Singer/songwriter Stephanie Nash nearly choked on her cough drop when judges announced her as winner of the Music Entertainment Industry Student Association UNPLUGGED songwriting competition Saturday.
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.
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