By Taryn Nicol
In a dimly lit, filled to the brim theater, the White Plains High School’s Songwriters Club held its 2023 Winter Original Showcase. With over 20 original songs, the club proved once again that when given an outlet to express their artistry and originality, the Songwriters Club will produce acts that will continuously “blow your mind."
The showcase opened with a catchy funk anthem, titled, “Daybreak Funk” by Kei Watanabe, with an unanticipated duet by Nashaly Dove and Gabe Korin, Evan Schwartz on bass and Liam Crooks on drums. The night then shot from singer-songwriter ballads, alternative rock, divergent rap, ethereal waltzes and everything in between. Many of the songs were accompanied by excited audience members leaving their seats to dance in the crowd. The first act closed off with Zoe Gopoian’s “Dissent Must Die” with Matt Welling on Drums, Emmanuel Orozco on lead guitar and Sabrina Mondschein on bass.
The second act commenced with the alternative rock original, “Not Your Savior” by Nathan DaSilva with Christian Sese on guitar and Jonah Kovach on Drums. The second act was loaded with love songs and strikes of nu-metal. The night closed out with the melodic rock instrumental, “Heartbeat Boomerang” by Christian Sese with Evan Schwartz on bass and Liam Crooks on drums, a brilliantly composed serenade to conclude the showcase.
Despite these feeble genre labels I’ve given to each song, the individuality of every song transcended the boundaries of genre; every song and lyric a “coup de maître," a showcase of immense talent, personal to every songwriter. The entire club (including the immensely talented videographer, stagehands, light and sound techs), displayed wide grins of accomplishment and elation throughout the night, obviously overjoyed to see the fruits of their labor, along with their fellow songwriters. Their energy filled the entire theater, inevitably providing the audience with that same, soul-stirring feeling.
The Songwriters Club will return for their acclaimed cover showcase on March 17th and 18th. You can follow the Songwriters Club on Instagram at @wphssongwriters.
