Words in the Wild: English and Creative Writing Major Maria Hadjiyanis Performs Original Songs at Local Venue
By Paul Wallace ’27
The Words sat down with English & Creative Writing major Maria Hadjiyanis ’27 (she/her) to discuss writing and performing original songs over the summer break.
In June, Maria started working as a host, server, and bartender at the Troubadour Wine Bar in uptown Minneapolis. Knowing that the venue often hosted live music, Maria asked her boss if she could perform at the bar. Her boss agreed and scheduled two shows for her.
Maria felt nervous beforehand. Though she had previous experience singing for a public audience during the music department’s semi-annual Thursday Noon performances, those audiences typically only included music department faculty, staff and students.
To prepare for her first public solo performance, Maria drafted a setlist and practiced it for at least one hour each day in the two weeks leading up to her gig. While practicing, she invited her family and friends to listen and asked for their feedback, which helped her refine her set.
At the Troubadour, Maria saw many of the same friends and family members in the audience which calmed her nerves.
“It was good to have some smiling, friendly faces in the audience,” Maria said.
After seeing her perform, the owner of the venue invited Maria to play on a regular basis throughout the summer. Maria also received encouragement from audience members who asked to hear more of her original songs. This favorable reception made Maria grateful that she took a risk by trying something new.
“I was definitely stepping into a new space by playing by myself,” Maria said. “I had never played guitar in public before, and I’ve only been learning that for three years now.”
Maria taught herself how to play the guitar during the pandemic but began taking vocal lessons at age twelve. However, she didn’t start writing songs until early 2024 when she took a songwriting class offered by the English & Creative Writing department and taught by Macalester alum Kerry Alexander ’12of the band Bad Bad Hats.
When asked why she didn’t start songwriting until after learning guitar and vocal technique for years, Maria said: “I was always scared to step into that realm because creative writing is a really intimate task and it can take a lot out of you…but once I signed up for that class, it was a way to force myself into at least trying it. …I’m really grateful for that class.”
Maria discovered that she enjoyed writing her own songs and that performing regularly augmented her confidence in her writing and public speaking abilities.
“Over time, I was able to start gabbing a little bit more [between songs], telling some stories, or if it was an original song, I like to tell a little bit of a backstory of how and when I wrote it,” Maria said. “I did gain confidence in my writing ability as I performed, since I would get that positive affirmation, and it would make me feel good about what I had written and make me feel like I was capable of writing more.”
Maria remains grateful to the English and creative writing department for offering classes that acknowledge songwriting’s place within the literary arts and looks forward to playing future shows at the Troubadour and elsewhere.