University of the Ozarks senior Seria Cash called it the highlight of her singing career after advancing last week to the semifinals of the Arkansas Chapter of the Southern National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) annual conference and student audition in Arkadelphia, Ark.
Cash, a psychology major and music minor from Nassau, The Bahamas, competed against dozens of other college students in the annual event, held on the campus of Henderson State University.
“I am extremely proud of Seria,” said U of O vocal instructor Jill Van Buren. “She put in hours of preparation leading up to her NATS audition last weekend, and it paid off. She made it past the preliminary round and into the semifinals. Way to go, Seria.”
Cash said it took a bit of persuading for her to enter her first collegiate singing competition.
“My voice professor, Jill Van Buren, told me about NATS around the ending part of last semester, more specifically, during the time we were preparing for the voice recital,” Cash said. “Truthfully, I would have never agreed or entered the competition because I thought I wasn’t good enough and that I didn’t sing that well. Sometimes, we’re not able to see, or believe in the gifts and talents that others see in us. Despite my reluctance, it was her persistence, her vision and the talent she saw in me that I decided to enter.”
For the preliminary round, Cash said she chose to sing her strongest piece — “Le Violette” by Alessandro Scarlatti. She also sang “Chanson D’amour” in the preliminary round as well as in the semifinal round.
“Words cannot explain how I felt when I found out that I advanced to the semifinals,” Cash said. “Minutes before I sang for the judges, I told Professor Van Buren and my other music professor, Katrina Twitty, that ‘I’m just here to sing and have fun’ and I laughed. Advancing wasn’t even a thought for me, so when I saw that I did, I was shocked and laughed again.”
Cash said performing seems to come naturally to her.
“I believe that by heart I’m a performer,” she said. “Whenever I’m on stage or in front of people, I transform into a character, or in this case the artist of a song, and I take those feelings of the piece and I express them. So, when I auditioned in front of the judges it was as if they weren’t there; only me, the pianist and the words of the songs.”
Growing up, Cash’s teachers called her a songbird.
“I’ve always had an interest in music,” she said. “When I was a child, for fun, my cousins and I would sit and write songs together. When I got older, around 12, I started playing the piano and began composing pieces at 16. And while I never sang, I played during family gatherings and at events.”
Cash said she’s learned to share her musical skills more readily in the past few years while at Ozarks.
“My music professors, Jill Van Buren and Katrina Twitty, through their words of encouragement and support always insist that I share my gifts and to continue learning music,” Cash said. “They’ve been great encouragers and supporters for me.”
She hopes to combined her love of psychology with her music to pursue a career in musical therapy.
“I would love to help people through music,” Cash said.
Topics: Music, Psychology