The Inside Press

Magazines serving the communities of Northern Westchester

songwriting

SongwritingWith:Soldiers

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Free Community Event on Wednesday, May 11

Songwriting with SolidersJacob Burns Film Center

Darden Smith and Soldiers
Darden Smith and Soldiers

Pleasantville, NY – In celebration of 15 years of uniting community around the media arts, the Jacob Burns Film Center presents The Power of Story, a special evening in partnership with SongwritingWith:Soldiers on Wednesday, May 11 at 7:30. The program will feature conversation, film clips, and live music inspired by the work of this groundbreaking organization to celebrate the transformative power of story and music. Panelists include Mary Judd, Darden Smith, filmmaker Jon Siskel, and Staff Sergeant Rob Spohr, along with a Live Musical Performance by singer/songwriters Darden Smith and Mary Gauthier.

Darden Smith, who is founder and creative director of SongwritingWith:Soldiers, along with Executive Director Mary Judd, have been dedicated to improving the lives of soldiers since 2012 by pairing veterans, active-duty service members, and military families with professional songwriters in retreat settings to craft songs about military experiences and the transition home. Along with Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter Mary Gauthier, filmmaker Jon Siskel, and SW:S veterans, they will share the stories, images, film clips, and collaborative songwriting which defines SongwritingWith:Soldiers as a home for creativity, connections, and strength.

Presented with support from Community Partners at WFUV 90.7 Public Radio, Fordham University.

This is a free community event. Please RSVP to ssoliman@burnsfilmcenter.org with the subject line “SW:S at JBFC,” your first and last name, and the number of tickets needed. (Limit is 4 tickets per person)

Songwriting with Soliders group

In conjunction with the evening, there will be a Media Exhibition of participating veterans’ portraits by Michael O’Brien in the JBFC Theater’s Jane Peck Gallery on the third floor.

The Jacob Burns Film Center is a nonprofit cultural arts organization dedicated to: presenting the best of independent, documentary, and world cinema; promoting 21st century literacy, and making film a vibrant part of the community. Located on a 47,500 sq. foot, three-building campus in the center of Pleasantville, the JBFC is just 30 miles outside of New York City. Since the opening in 2001, over 2,000,000 people have seen over 5,400 films from more than 40 countries The campus includes the 27,000 sq. foot Media Arts Lab, the JBFC’s state-of-the-art education center, a creative and educational community for storytellers in the digital age, offering one-time workshops, intensive courses, and weekend programs for children and adults of all ages. To learn more about the Jacob Burns Film Center, visit www.burnsfilmcenter.org.

Catch a Rising Star: 12-year-old Tori Shortreid

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Tori performs at iconic NYC club The Bitter End. Kenji Mori Photo
Tori performs at iconic NYC club The Bitter End. Kenji Mori Photo

By Sarah Ellen Rindsberg

This girl rocks in Chappaqua! Tori Shortreid is a singer songwriter and instrumentalist; at the age of 12 she plays multiple instruments such as piano, guitar and bass. Tori recalls being musically inclined at the earlier age of three. When she was eight-years-old, she asked her classical piano teacher whether she could play her own compositions in the lessons. And if you were wondering, she does have a strong tie to Music in Chappaqua–Proprietor Janet Angier is her proud mother.

An invitation to see her perform at home is gratefully accepted by this writer. Shortreid eagerly picks up her acoustic guitar in preparation for a rendition of “When You Say Goodbye,” one of her original creations, inspired by her older sister Michaela’s departure for boarding school. In the introduction to the song, Shortreid explains the underlying inspiration: “We’re very close. Writing the song was a good way to express myself about her leaving.”

In the latter part of “When You Say Goodbye,” the pain is palpable:  “Leaving you tears me apart, missing you pulls out my heart.” Fair warning: the melodious refrain, Ooo-oo ooo-oo, When you say goodbye all I wanna say is hello, where did you go,” will have the delicious effect of planting itself in your head in the form of an earworm – the phenomenon of having a song “stuck” in the cortex. It’s simultaneously haunting and awesome.

To listen to a gorgeous rendition, type Tori Shortreid in the search bar on youtube.

The rhythm gains momentum quickly in the next selection entitled, “Time Machine.” The ivories begin to sing in a fashion not unlike Billy Joel’s. As Shortreid plays, her artistry really shines through.

Stylistically, Shortreid sees her work as “indie or alternative rock.” Her emotive powers and confident voice are reminiscent of Feist. Shortreid describes her amazing range:  “I can reach a low D and a B flat in the sixth octave.” (A low alto to a high soprano in layman’s terms.)

Musical influences abound. Shortreid enthusiastically calls up the names on her playlist:  Coldplay, Crash Kings, Paramore, Panic!, Imagine Dragons, Sleeping with Sirens, and Train.  She also has a mentor in Nashville who has been instrumental in refining her songs.

In school, Shortreid’s favorite subject is science. “I really like the hands-on projects,” she says. No surprise, coming from this confident young woman who crafts her own musical creations. Her extracurricular activities include being a member of the middle school chorus at Bell.

With her time demands–practicing an hour and a half or more daily and homework–Shortreid remains remarkably laid back, placing a high priority on having fun. Drawing anime and 
acting in her friend Siena Martin’s 
videos are some of her additional favorite pastimes.

After laying down tracks for a new CD at Jon Cobert’s recording studio in Chappaqua, what’s up next for this talent? In the summer, she will be sharing her knowledge with Music in Chappaqua campers. For high school, she plans on attending the Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan, where Michaela–whom Shortreid refers to as “my muse”–is currently in residence.

Keep your ears attuned to this young woman. Her stage presence and talent render her a rising star.

The composition of this piece by Sarah Ellen Rindsberg was greatly enhanced by the accompaniment of Shortreid’s tunes.