The University of Auckland’s Songwriter of the Year is a prestigious award for current University of Auckland students studying popular music and for emerging songwriters from secondary schools across the North Island.
Popular Music student Sam Springett is The University of Auckland 2012 Songwriter of the Year.
Sam was judged the best amongst the six talented finalists at the Grand Final concert, held at the Raye Freedman Arts Centre on 20 September.
His title win also includes a swag of prizes courtesy of MusicWorks, Roundhead Studios, Kog Studio, Amstore, the New Zealand Association of Music Producers (NZAMP) and KiwiFM.
“To win when I was up against so many talented musicians was amazing. I was nervous but tried hard just to enjoy the experience. I’m so stoked. Couldn’t have done it without the support from my lecturers and friends”, says 18 year-old Sam, who grew up in Nelson, and only shifted to Auckland last year.
In addition to original performances by the six finalists, the concert also featured guest appearances by the winners of the Songwriter of the Year: Schools Competition, which was held earlier this year. Talented young musicians Petra Bullock (Takapuna Grammar School, Auckland) and Evan Sinton and Hamish Jackson, performing as Intone (Glendowie College, Auckland) each performed a set of their original songs.