Artist spotlight: Mima Manton
2 min read
Following her love of music, Manton plans to move to New York after she graduates. Davy Washington | The Weekly Ringer
by AMANDA SHEWARD
Staff Writer
Music isn’t just a major for Mima Manton, a singer/songwriter and UMW junior; it follows her out of the classroom and around the world.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Manton released her first song, but she has been writing songs since she learned how to write. She knew that she wanted to get out of her hometown in Birmingham, U.K., and her uncle helped connect her with a sporting scholarship agency to find music scholarships to attend college in the U.S.
As a music major, she receives both the Henry and Grace Spicer Philharmonic Scholarship and one of the Baker Philharmonic Orchestra scholarships. At Mary Washington, Manton is the lead singer in the UMW Jazz Ensemble, and she plays bassoon in the University’s Philharmonic Orchestra. She also is the assistant director of UMW’s Pep Band and sings the national anthem for sporting events.
Manton is working on a new song called “Dance in the Night,” which she expects to release in a couple of months. She also plans to shoot a music video for the song in Canada over spring break. She often films her music videos abroad, but it’s unintentional.
Margarita Korsakava, a junior business administration major and Manton’s roommate, discussed Manton’s involvement in various bands on campus and how she balances these commitments with her personal career in music.
“She is involved in a multitude of musical programs on campus, including UMW Pep Band, Orchestra, and Jazz Band,” said Korsakava. “However, no matter how busy she is, she finds free time every single day to work on her own new songs. She works on recording her singing, adding instrumentals and even creating music videos for her songs daily.”
Sydney Tadlock, a junior elementary and music major, reminisced about how she met Manton.
“I met Mima outside Pollard when we were both late for a concert band, and she immediately treated me like a friend,” she said. “Mima takes music very seriously and gets excited and passionate about it.”
Caroline Caton, a sophomore music and elementary major, plays oboe in the Philharmonic Orchestra. She expressed her admiration for Manton and her work.
She said, “I am a big fan of hers, but I think I’m just more proud.”
Manton spoke about the process of releasing music and her own personal path as an artist.
“First, I’m going to start off with an EP because I don’t have enough songs to do an album and because I produced them all myself and that takes so much time, especially in college,” she said.
After college, Manton hopes to move to New York.
“I want to stay in America and make music doing stuff on this side of the world,” she said.
