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Spring Sing Profile: Sienna Moffitt

Second-year Design | Media Arts student Sienna Moffitt will perform her original song “I Shan’t Be There (When You Go)” at Spring Sing. (Gabrielle Cabalza/Daily Bruin)

By Alicia Sontag

May 12, 2014 12:00 a.m.

Sienna Moffitt, a second-year Design | Media Arts student, grew up participating in musicals and singing covers of songs that other artists had already made famous. She would mimic the ways that the songs were sung, but she never really knew what her own voice sounded like.

“A few years ago, I sang ‘Hallelujah’ while playing the piano,” Moffitt said. “It was the first moment where I was like, ‘This is my voice.'”

As one of the solo acts in Spring Sing, Moffitt will be performing her original song “I Shan’t Be There (When You Go)” while playing the guitar, which she learned to play last year. It will be the first time she has performed her own music in front of thousands of people.

Moffitt said she learned about Spring Sing auditions when the president of her sorority forwarded her an email about the event. Moffitt considered it and wrote the song for her audition on the last day of winter break. “I Shan’t Be There (When You Go)” is based on Moffitt’s personal experiences and relationships.

Moffitt said her focus is on lyrics, and she tries to create as much meaning as possible for the audience. Her style is similar to British folk music, or nu-folk. She prefers her music to sound simple and be easy to have on in the background, but if listeners take the time to stop and think about the lyrics, they may find something that means a bit more.

“I think of my music like abstract art,” Moffitt said. “You look at it and you’re not entirely sure what you’re looking at, but if this piece of art reminds you of something that happened to you in your life, it’ll really touch you.”

Ariana Stanton, a second-year world arts and cultures student, said Moffitt’s voice is rare, as it is simultaneously peaceful and soulful.

“(Moffitt) wants people sitting in Pauley to feel like they are in an intimate setting and she is singing to them individually, so that each person feels they have been personally affected by her music,” Stanton said.

At rehearsal, Moffitt only practices the chords on her guitar, and refrains from practicing the lyrics.

“I don’t want to wear it out – if I practice too much, I feel like I will lose the meaning, and I want to convey all of the emotion to the audience,” Moffitt said.

Since receiving the opportunity to participate in Spring Sing, Moffitt said her musical creativity has bloomed, and she considered taking this quarter off to pursue music. She is still looking to pursue a musical career in the future.

Moffitt said she has recently realized that she is independent and prefers to work solo. However, bands like Mumford & Sons and Fleet Foxes continually enthrall her, pushing her to want to make music with others to attain a full, powerful sound. The notes she chooses to sing are indirectly inspired by these bands.

Moffitt said she hopes to meet fellow musicians at Spring Sing, and to eventually jam and collaborate with them. Her guitar skills have already improved since rehearsing with other Spring Sing contestants.

“Other musicians have pushed me to be harder on myself and forced me to grow on the guitar,” Moffitt said. “My fellow musicians catalyzed new progress.”

Moffitt said she is less concerned with the competition and instead thrilled with the opportunity to meet other talented and passionate musicians. She is looking forward to sharing an important part of her life with so many people.

“My music is intentional. It fulfills me because every line I say means something from a part of my life, instead of just finding words that rhyme,” Moffitt said. “I’m proud of that.”

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Alicia Sontag
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