Soaring solo
Sixteen-year-old Nelson musician Estella Romagnoli has won the national Smokefreerockquest solo-duo category with what the judges called a ‘‘standout’’ performance.
She is a largely self-taught guitarist, who doesn’t know what to call her style, and gets her songwriting inspiration from unlikely sources.
Now Nelson singer-songwriter Estella Romagnoli is also one of the best young musical talents in the country after winning the solo-duo category at Saturday’s Smokefreerockquest national finals in Auckland. She also won the Lowdown Best Song Award.
Yesterday, the 16-year-old, year 12 student was already browsing a Rockshop branch in Auckland, deciding how to spend the $3000 worth of musical equipment that was part of her prize.
Estella was tossing up between buying an ‘‘excessively expensive’’ guitar or a slightly cheaper guitar or a good PA system to play gigs around Nelson, which she hopes to be the next part of her musical journey and an eventual career in the industry.
The Blenheim-born teenager’s journey began around age 10 when she and her musical aunt wrote a song for her mother got married in Italy to her stepfather Marco Romagnoli.
‘‘I couldn’t play guitar then, I was just up the front of the church, singing ‘It’s fun to be a Romagnoli’ in English to people who were just watching me blankly.’’
Her talents were quickly recognised in school bands at Richmond’s Henley School and Waimea Intermediate, and she won a Nelson talent competition at the age of 11.
She has had guitar lessons in patches but is mainly self-taught.
‘‘I have a personality flaw that I have to do things myself, I don’t like being told so much.’’
Last year, the Nelson College for Girls student made the top six in the Smokefreerockquest soloduo category but on Saturday night, she was its ‘‘standout’’ winner after her performance on the Auckland Girls Grammar stage, according to this year’s judges.
That was despite being up against two finalists who had electronic back-up; Estella had her acoustic guitar and her own songs. Event judge Anji Sami said she ‘‘loved everything’’ about her performance.
‘‘The way she paired vocals and guitar, the conviction of her delivery and the strength of her songs – she had it all.’’
Her win means Estella can now record the two songs she played, Break The Silence and Colours Of The Rain, and make a video of one with a New Zealand On Air grant.
Colours Of The Rain was inspired by her favourite lolly, rainbow strips: ‘‘I just decided to write a love song to them.’’