It’s no secret Millikin University has talent. On March 18, UCB hosted their third Annual Songwriting Competition and proved that Millikin does have talent. There were 11 great performers that showcased their own original songs. It was great to hear from some familiar artists as well as a bunch of new faces.

The night was filled with performances by students such as Paige Bequette, Mandy Haack, Logan Schildknecht, Hannah Lieb, Daniel Koffman and a new folk duo With Love, From Baia. It was great hearing songs from such different genres and different styles. The judging panel for this year was made up of two professors at Millikin, Kevin Guarnieri, Ricardo Sepúlveda and local Decatur poet Phil Shills. Valina Hoang and Stewart Arp are the co-music chairs of UCB and were in charge of the event.

When asked about how the event went, Hoang said, “The 3rd Annual UCB Songwriting Competition had an amazing turnout. We really wanted to focus more on the songwriting process rather than the performance. It just so happened that everyone was so talented both lyrically and musically. I think it’s important to have events like these because it’s always great to showcase Millikin’s talent at these events and it’s a wonderful performance learning experience.”

The prize for winning first place in the songwriting contest was recording their single at Millitrax studio, having their song debut on WJMU, a $25 Guitar Center Gift Card and a featured article in The Decaturian.

The runner up in the contest was the song “Out Of Love” written by Mandy Haack. The first prizewinner of the contest was “Passerby” written by Daniel Koffman.

Koffman is a freshman music business transfer this year at Millikin University. He is 25-years-old, and served in the United States Air Force before coming to Millikin.

When asked about his inspiration for his winning song Koffman said, “This song is about a relationship where I wasn’t in control of what was going on, and I wanted things to change. I didn’t want to be a passerby.”

Koffman’s hometown is the town of Bonne Terre, Mo. He was drawn to Millikin by the great music program. “I was looking for a school that was close to home,” Koffman said. “I was looking at a few Chicago schools, but Millikin was on top of my list of local schools.”

Koffman said that he has been compared to Ed Sheeran before and also stated that he was an inspiration for him musically. When asked what type of music he has recently been listening to, he said that he has been into the band Rise Against. It was great night for original music and hearing Millikin students do what they are best at.