Ten Years of Writing Music

The White Plains High School Songwriters Club celebrated its 10th anniversary on Saturday night during its annual winter songwriters' showcase in the high school's Little Theater. The show featured 35 original songs performed by members of the Songwriters Club.

"When I first started the club I had no idea how to do it, and we had about five kids," said the club's founder and mentor Dennis Polanco, who teaches English at the high school. "But now we're over 50 strong, and we're celebrating our tenth anniversary.

Polanco started the Songwriters Club as a new teacher in White Plains, who didn't like the selection of clubs available to students, and wanted to offer something different.

"I figured that I'm a performer and a singer-songwriter, I might as well help kids how to do it as well," he said. "And I get a lot out of seeing the artistic growth in the students."

The club incorporates students from all backgrounds, races and social circles, from slackers to athletes to members of the orchestra honors ensemble. Students that have any musical inclination whatsoever are highly encouraged to join.

The showcase started out as a one-night event, but as the club grew, the event needed two nights to accomodate  all the students that wanted to perform. The songs at this year's showcase ran the gamut, with students performing rock, folk, metal, acoustic, hip-hop and punk songs.

"It's a great way to get yourself out there," said Hannah Gamiel, 18, who joined the club as a freshman, and is now a senior. "I first started off just paying bass, but the atmosphere of the club made me want to play the guitar so that I could further express myself."

"It's really like a family," said Larry Hanlen, 16, a sophomore. "It's a great way to your feelings out, a way to express yourself musically."

The 10th anniversary also marks the last year that Polanco's son, Ivan, will be a part of the club. Ivan first started coming to the winter and spring showcases when he was only eight, performing with his father, and now is a 17-year-old senior, and a co-president of the club.

"I love the freedom that it gives us," he said. "There's no greater feeling the expressing my true self to the audience."  

Having been around so long, the club draws many White Plains graduates to the annual performances, many of whom still play music. Andy Porta, 22, who graduated in 2006, plays in the White Plains based pop-punk band "American Pinup," and even met some of his bandmates through the club.

"Being in the club gave me a lot more confidence to play my instrument, and a lot of positive encouragement," Porta said. "It provided a stage for kids who didn't have anywhere else to play."