Spring Sing veteran and Bruin Harmony member Tieren Salstrand knows the ins and outs of preparing for the big competition – but this time, he takes on the beast alone.
The fourth-year theater student is performing at his fourth Spring Sing with a self-produced original song “Leave the Door Unlocked.” As a member of the all-male a cappella group Bruin Harmony, Salstrand said he is well-versed in the Spring Sing preparation process, but this will be his first year performing solo. Salstrand said the process has been rewarding overall and has allowed him to build trust in his abilities as a musician and recording artist.
“After this process of recording one of my songs, I feel a lot more confident,” Salstrand said. “This will be my first single that I’m going to release on Spotify.”
Salstrand joined Bruin Harmony as a first-year theater student, which he said provided him both the opportunity to sing in college and make friends outside of the musical theater program. The all-male group became a place that allowed him to build trust in himself as a musician and provided support through college, Salstrand said.
“I’ve made some of the best friends in the world,” Salstrand said. “They’ve … helped … (cement) the fact that I am a musician and they really instilled the confidence to actually pursue (music).”
Even after multiple Spring Sing performances, Salstrand said he doesn’t take the opportunity to perform in the competition lightly, and he is grateful for his past three experiences performing with Bruin Harmony. The preparation process has been more difficult than his experiences preparing for the competition with the a cappella group, but because of restrictions placed on gatherings, he said performing solo ultimately became the best option.
And working through the ins and outs of the digital audio software Logic Pro has been a learning experience as well, Salstrand said. He is familiar with rehearsals for live performances – which included meeting and practicing with Bruin Harmony for past Spring Sing performances – but the process of prerecording tracks and creating a music video is entirely new to him this year, he said.
“It’s been a lengthy process (of) sitting in front of my roommate’s computer, and it’s been long and complicated as I’m learning how to record as I’m doing it,” Salstrand said. “It’s been a pain in the butt, but it’s been good.”
Salstrand’s roommate, fourth-year theater student and Bruin Harmony member Abe Soane, said he enjoyed watching Salstrand’s preparation process. Soane said Salstrand’s music is captivating because of how authentic he is in the creative and performing process, and when Salstrand is practicing, he embodies a sense of happiness and peace where his true self becomes evident.
“When he practices, he just puts his headphones in, then he’s playing the guitar, he’s singing and it’s very much to himself,” Soane said. “It’s very much a solo decompress thing for him.”
But Salstrand’s selling point comes from his ability to organically perform his music, Soane said. Salstrand looks like he is in his element when performing an original song and that connection with himself will resonate with audience members, Soane said. Moreover, Soane said Salstrand’s singing also complements his lyrics because the combination of the song’s emotional depth and his organic voice provides a connecting point for listeners to hear the message that Salstrand is trying to convey.
Another Bruin Harmony member and third-year geography/environmental studies student Evan Swanson said Salstrand’s lyrics tackle universal challenges such as overcoming past relationships in conjunction with complex and layered instrumental sections. Salstrand’s music is distinguishable in that it always starts with a catchy guitar lick, Swanson said. From that point, he said Salstrand builds different instrumental layers, incorporating instruments like a mandolin – an unusual pick in standard guitar singer-songwriter music.
“I think everyone that listens to his performance is going to feel something,” Swanson said. “You’re going to be moved.”
Throughout the entire process, Salstrand said preparing for Spring Sing opened up opportunities for him to produce more original music because he familiarized himself with recording. He also said the enjoyment he got out of the creative process makes him want to work at creating a full album for release. But overall, Salstrand said he is thankful for Spring Sing’s opportunity to perform alongside other talented artists.
“I don’t really want to get anything out of this,” Salstrand said. “I think anything that I will get I’ve already gotten, which is just a huge privilege of … the exposure. I just want to have a song my family and friends can listen to and be like, ‘That’s Tieren.’”
