Macomb Township student lives her life in song

MACOMB TOWNSHIP — It is the late fall and nearing winter, and the pressure is on for the students of Macomb Community College. Nearing December means finals are on the horizon, sending students into libraries and forming study groups to prepare for the dreaded tests.

It is hard to imagine how any student at this time of year can focus on anything except acing exams, but one MCC student is taking her place in the limelight everywhere from St. Clair Shores to the hardwood at Little Ceasar’s Arena.

Allyson Nash is a singer, and a prolific one at that. She is the president of The Macombers — a musical troupe made up of MCC students — and the recent recipient of a St. Clair Shores Community Chorus scholarship.

“My interest in music came about when I got to middle school,” Nash said. “I went to Seneca (Middle School) and the two choir directors there changed from doing regular choral music to doing more showtunes and adding choreography and making it a fun show for people to watch. … That started when I was in the sixth grade, and I fell in love with it.”

Nash performed with the Seneca choir through all three years of middle school, also taking part in the school’s a cappella and solo ensemble while becoming a member of the Michigan Honors Choir.

“Getting into Seneca’s choir really opened up my love for wanting to continue doing anything with choir and music in general,” Nash said.

The love of music, sparked in middle school, followed Nash to Dakota High School. There she performed in the show choir and took part in two musicals, “Beauty and the Beast” and “Les Misérables.” She kept competing in solo ensembles, expanding to both classical and musical competitions and winning events at the district and state level.

“I was doing a lot in high school, but it was my life,” Nash said. “It was so much fun. I knew I wanted to do something with music once I graduated high school. I didn’t know exactly what yet.”

Nash decided to go to MCC in order to stay close to home, citing a desire to not move during the peak years of COVID-19, at the time she graduated. At MCC, she got in contact with Todd Moses, a former choir director at Dakota and the director of musical education at the college. Through Moses, Nash was able to secure an audition for The Macombers show choir and made it into the troupe. She has now been a member of The Macombers for three years and has been the troupe’s president for two.

“We like to say we’re the goodwill ambassadors of Macomb,” Nash said of the troupe.

Being the only collegiate show choir in Michigan, The Macombers tour all around the metro region and the state.

“We go all around,” Nash said. “We perform for schools. We’re going to the Pistons game (on Nov. 14) and singing the national anthem there, which is pretty amazing. We’re at the Jimmy John’s (Field) games. We’re all around.”

Her duties for The Macombers are in conjunction with her pursuit of a musical certificate program, keeping her schedule busy and her vocal cords at their limit. It’s a difficult schedule for anyone to manage, but Nash plans on not just powering through. She has her eyes on post-MCC plans.

“I’m going to be transferring to Western Michigan University in the fall,” Nash said. “I’ll be going into the Gilmore School of Music there and completing my music education bachelor’s degree at Western. It’s probably going to be a two-year program for me because all of my credits transfer to Western.”

But before Allyson Nash can take the stage in Kalamazoo, she’s got a packed schedule to get through this December. She’ll be performing with chamber choirs in cemeteries to aid mourners, caroling at the Detroit Zoo with The Macombers on Saturday, Dec. 2, touring schools and senior centers for shows throughout the month and will star as the featured soloist at the St. Clair Shores Community Chorus’ Christmas concert on Sunday, Dec. 3.