Folk artist Stella Prince talks music at exclusive event at the Music Center – The Columbia Chronicle

For many music students, the end goal is to perform to many and live the life of an artist. On Wednesday, Sept. 24, a group of artists got the opportunity to get a glimpse of that dream through a talk with singer-songwriter Stella Prince.

While on tour across the country, the folk-artist spoke to Columbia students through a question and answer session held on campus at the Concert Hall of Columbia’s Music Center. The event was hosted by the Career Center, the School of Audio and Music and the Women In Audio organization. 

Topics ranged from songwriting to self-managing to Prince’s journey as an artist.

The first half of the event was a conversation between Prince and Andre Daniels, a part-time instructor in the School of Audio and Music who also goes by the stage name “Add-2.” The second half of the event opened the floor to attendee questions for Prince. 

Prince said her songs are based on moments in her life that end up sparking lyrics.

“And it made me think, ‘Oh, maybe there’s a song in that,’ but that’s really what it is,” Prince said. “It’s just coming across random lines that are just real life.”

In an interview with the Chronicle before the event, Prince said that while she experienced difficulty in the beginning of her career, the hardships have been paying off ever since. 

“I remember someone said to me, ‘It’s going to take you way longer, but it will be better in the end, because you’re so different,’ and I think there’s a lot of truth to that,” Prince said. 

The school has hosted previous events such as yearly residency concerts, inviting contemporary artists to work and perform with current students. 

Previous artists that had residencies were singer-songwriter Joan Osborne, composer Stefon Harris and singer-songwriter Shawn Mullins. 

Alexis Delgado, a senior music major, came to the event as he is part of Daniels’s “Songwriting” class. He participated in the Q&A by asking a question related to the business side of the music industry.

In response, Prince spoke about how she booked multiple concerts herself in the past and how becoming skilled in that side of the industry helped progress her career.

“I feel like the best way to go about it, you have to be your own agent, your own manager,” Prince said. “You might as well learn all those things and do it for yourself and keep it for yourself.”

While Delgado has experience in production and engineering, he was unfamiliar with the business aspect of music. 

“It was just cool to hear her perspective on it,” Delgado said. 

Anthony Curry, a junior music major, felt more motivated about his career after attending the event. 

“I feel inspired, but more in a way of going and figuring out something new that I don’t know musically,” said Curry.

Daniels said that students being able to learn directly from artists is important, even more when the artist is around the same age as them, as it helps them relate more to what is reachable. 

“This isn’t like learning from a legacy artist, she’s in their generation, and she’s learning in real time,” Daniels said. “And I think a lot of people can go back home saying, ‘I know what my next step is.’”

Copy edited by Brandon Anaya

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