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Worship Leadership Major Sings Her First Secular Gig
A Feature Story on Emmy Tane
By Grace Davis
If you went to Bonnumu, a music festival fundraiser put on by Phi Mu, then I am sure you had the pleasure of hearing Emmy Tane sing her heart out on the stage.
“Margret Ann Sanders first reached out to me about performing at the event last year,” says Tane. “Sadly, I couldn’t do it because of covid issues, so I was thrilled to be given the opportunity again.”
Tane is a junior worship leadership major with a music concentration from Forsyth, Ga. She first started her singing career in the youth church choir, which consisted of singing for Christmas and Easter presentations, and found that she thoroughly enjoyed it. Tane also would participate in singing competitions with friends for fun. “In the fourth grade, you could audition for a solo, which is exactly what I did.” Tane participated in chorus throughout middle and high school, taking classical voice lessons on the side.
“My biggest role models in the music industry growing up were Carrie Underwood, Lauren Daigle, and Francesca Battistelli,” says Tane. “Basically, all of the early 2000’s Christian music artists were my favorite.”
Tane has taken many classes at Samford University that have improved and matured her voice over the years. “The first two years of my education were classical but have helped me learn how to strengthen my voice and tone,” says Tane. “I perform with the campus and Samford worship team.” Tane explains that during the classes, it can be “really hard to see the point, but later on, I am able to see the improvement and apply the technique to any situation.”
“You can tell I have improved so much since high school.” Tane sang with Cole Smith, also a worship leadership major. “We did not practice until the week of and focused mainly on duets,” says Tane. “Cole and I already have a song we wrote together, so we knew this would not be a challenge.” Tane says that Smith was “no stranger to gigs” and “collaboration would be easy.”
Opening for Jody Searcy, a well-known singer, and songwriter from Baton Rouge, La., Tane was able to meet Jordy and his band. “I arrived at 5:00 for soundchecks, and Jordy was already there setting up,” says Tane. “I was starstruck. They sounded fantastic and spoke to Wheat, our tech guy, in a very professional manner.”
Tane and Smith did not use Searcy’s equipment because they desired a simpler setup to accommodate their performance's acoustics. As they played, tech worked to match the levels of their tone. “Overall, the night was wonderful, and everything went smoothly,” says Tane. “This was my first secular gig, so it was totally different than what I am used to. Fortunately, the crowd was very interactive, and many more people came out to support us than I had expected. Everyone was so hyped and kept the energy up the whole time!”
A Behind-the-Scenes Look at The Magic City Nutcracker
with Samantha Tuttle
Feature Story by Grace Davis
BIRMINGHAM ALA. - The Magic City Nutcracker, a community performance put on by the Lyric Theatre, is a part of Birmingham’s Christmas traditions. Several Samford Dance Company members graced the Lyric Theatre stage with their beauty and talent this year.
Samantha Tuttle, a freshman on Samford Dance Company, danced the role of “Dew Drop” and easily enticed the audience with her flawless technique.
“My mom put me in dance when I was three,” said Tuttle. “After 5th grade, I went to dance at an advanced studio.”
Tuttle was still swimming competitively at the time, so she had to decide what sport she was going to pursue further. Ultimately, it was her father, who recently passed away, that encouraged her to quit swimming instead of dancing.
“My dad saw that I was less anxious when it came to dancing and performing on the stage,” stated Tuttle. “He encouraged me to stick with it because he could tell I enjoyed it so much more.”
Tuttle had no clue what she wanted to do after high school. She applied to 15 different schools and auditioned for several dance companies, four of which offered her a spot. These companies were Alabama Ballet, Texas Ballet Theater, Ballet Met, and Houston Ballet.
“It would have been really cool to perform with a company, but I knew that it would be better if I went to school,” said Tuttle. “I knew I would get burnt out quickly dancing professionally, and it was not a sustainable lifestyle.”
Tuttle said her mom applied to Samford for her, and they offered her the most scholarship money. Together, she and her mom decided on Samford. Tuttle said she was very unhappy about the decision at first, but once she got to school, she liked it more than she thought.
“Being on the Samford Dance Company has been a different experience than I had anticipated,” said Tuttle. “I am very much a ballerina, and Company leans more towards modern and lyrical styles. I do wish they had offered more ballet but taking part in the Nutcracker was able to fill that gap for me.”
Tuttle auditioned for the Nutcracker because she could not imagine a Christmas without it, considering she had done it for the past ten years. After the audition, she was unsure about performing in the show but was immediately offered one of her dream roles, “Dew Drop.” In this case, she could not say no.
“I had to skip the first five rehearsals, which is not something I would ever be allowed to do at my hometown studio, so instantly, I knew this would be a laid-back experience,” said Tuttle. “The choreographer basically improvised everything on me when I came, and we had rehearsals every Saturday after that.”
Charlotte Mann, an audience member, said, “Samantha has such a gift. She inspires and moves me so much through her dancing. I was smiling the whole time she was on stage.”
Tuttle said the performance was tough because she caught the flu and sprained her ankle. This made showtime less enjoyable, but Tuttle persevered.
“The show went smoothly, although I wish the environment would have been more professional,” said Tuttle. “I got to dance alongside the Samford Dance Company girls, which made it super fun.”
Overall, Tuttle said she will likely not do the Nutcracker again but is very happy with her decision to participate this Christmas.
“The Magic City Nutcracker is always a joy to watch,” stated Mann. “Seeing the city of Birmingham come together this way makes me so happy.”
Tuttle will be performing in Samford’s dance company production on Feb. 9-12th. Tickets can be purchased here.