Nikita Buys wins Best of the West Music Awards
Golden Bay singer Nikita Buys celebrates her success at the Best of the West in Westport. Photo: Ina Holst.
Nikita Buys was the overall winner of the Best of the West Music Awards held at Westport recently. While she was chuffed with the results, she said it had also been a tough tour de force that she mastered by concentrating on the task ahead.
“With a spirit of readiness I collected myself and engaged my thoughts into each word of my song. I had managed to get into four out of the six of the sections I had auditioned for. For one of the songs I didn’t get into the finals for, I came third instantly. I was overwhelmed.”
She was the first contestant to start off the night and - no stage fright with this seasoned performer - considered this a privilege.
“My songs were very close together and I now think I have mastered the art of a quick dress change. I came second in the Traditional section and won the Gospel and Vocal sections. I was extremely excited when Matthew McNeilly and I came second in the Senior Duo section as it was even tougher again in the Senior category. I won the overall intermediate Best of the West Country Music Awards with my gospel song.”
Nikita is grateful for having been mentored in her musical development for some time by Alan Swafford, and for a wide range of sponsorship, which enables her to travel to music events and competitions.
In her last year at school, Nikita is still contemplating whether to pursue a degree in nursing or in music as a music teacher. The promising young musician is heading down to the Golden Guitars in Gore at the beginning of June for her next competition.
Ina Holst
