Left to right: Aubrey Plass (co-Horizon Award), Claireen Cheng (runner-up), Greta Schap (co-Horizon Award), and Samantha Valente (winner)

By Andrew Hughes

On Monday, May 4th, SAMI hosted its yearly reception for the Shirley Martin Scholarship for Young Songwriters. Our host and long-time coordinator of judging, Michael Longcor, called the scholarship “the best thing we do,” and for good reason. What started as an effort to celebrate the life of the much-loved community member Shirley Martin, has continued its mission of calling on the next generation of songwriters to harness their musical talents and consider careers in the industry.

The scholarship has been going strong for 26 years, and SAMI President Scott Greeson scarcely could have expected this longevity when he helped bring the idea to fruition all those years ago. If anything, the reception has grown beyond the scholarship; last Monday, we also awarded the co-recipients of the Metzger Legacy Award, which SAMI has taken on from Ouibache Music Festival to honor the lives of Bryan and Cindy Metzger.

This year, we did things a bit differently. The judges were so impressed by the quality of the entries that SAMI decided to expand the reception to include some of the applicants who did not place. Some of them went on stage to perform for the first time, and given that this was their original material, we congratulate them and admire their bravery for stepping up!

The event began with a performance from Amanda Fletcher, a previous winner of the scholarship. She confided in the audience that the opportunity helped build her confidence and change the trajectory of her life. Since then, Amanda has been a member of SAMI and a consistent supporter of the scholarship, and we’re glad she was able to kick things off for us.

Following Amanda was Owen Metz, with a performance of his entry, “Rendezvous”. He played his catchy tune on piano, and we appreciated the unpredictable and thoughtful changes in the song. Next up, Edward Lazar performed his instrumental, “Last Chance”, playing piano along with a backing track. We can tell he’s thought a lot about his artistry. He has a lot of skill, and we’re excited to hear where he might go next.

Midway through the proceedings, SAMI Board Member and songwriter Sam Bennett jumped on stage to congratulate two dedicated friends of SAMI. David Inskeep and Frank Safranek are familiar faces to anyone who has attended our monthly song shares. They are very welcoming and encouraging to new faces, including the author of this article when he started coming to SAMI. They often arrive early to our events and leave late, generously offering their help along the way. We hope that the gift cards we gave them will help them pay for gas, given that they drive from Kokomo to take part in SAMI.

Left to right: Frank Safranek, Scott Greeson, Sam Bennett and David Inskeep

We indicated earlier that this event encompassed more than the scholarship, as SAMI also coordinates the Metzger Legacy Award. This yearly grant goes back to individuals and organizations in the community aligned with SAMI’s goals of expanding arts education and offering performance opportunities to local songwriters. Nelu Lazar, a member of the award’s judging committee, congratulated this year’s co-recipients: Jo Kincanon, from McCutcheon High School, and Bess Witcosky, on behalf of Joyful Journey.

Kincanon will use the funds to buy balance boards to enhance her choral and vocal music curriculum. She tells us the equipment will “help students identify and engage the specific muscle groups required for sustainable vocal production.” The committee loved the idea and thought it aligned perfectly with SAMI’s mission of expanding arts education.

Witcosky plans to use the funds awarded to Joyful Journey to bring musicians and performers to their adult care center, as it is difficult for visitors to reach the venues where those kinds of events usually take place. Bringing those events to them, as Witcosky put it herself, for their artist-in-residence program, will provide an exciting activity for those individuals, especially those with Alzheimer’s and dementia. SAMI is proud to provide the resources to this organization offering performance opportunities to local talent.

Left to right: Scott Greeson, Jo Kincanon, Bess Witcosky, and Nelu Lazar

Meanwhile, we still had a few performances to go. Greta Schap, co-winner of the Mike Lane Horizon Award, performed “A Song For You from Me”, on ukulele. Her presence was all the more humbling for those who remembered Greta’s mother, Annie Hatke, winning the scholarship decades earlier. We love to see the next generation of songwriters taking inspiration from their parents!

The other recipient of the Horizon Award was Aubrey Plass, with her song “Days In Between”. Joining her on stage on guitar was Ethan Bates, who runs SAMI’s recording studio on the lower level of TAF. Aubrey and Ethan performed the song once before, for a songwriters-in-the-round hosted by SAMI back in March. We were proud of Aubrey for challenging herself to write the song, perform it, and apply for the scholarship. We hope to see her grow as a musician and songwriter in the coming years.

This year’s runner-up for the Shirley Martin Scholarship was Claireen Cheng, with her song “Pieces of You”. Claireen first entered the scholarship last year, and we welcome all those applicants who did not win to keep applying until they do. We listened to the recording of her song, and we could tell she worked hard on it. Claireen told the audience that it was her first time recording herself on guitar, and she did an excellent job!

Finally, the winner of the Shirley Martin Scholarship, Samantha Valente, closed the ceremony with a live rendition of her song, “Marionette”. The audience was struck by her spellbinding performance, and we’re glad to hear she has started recording some of her own music. While she can no longer enter the scholarship, we hope this experience will give her further evidence of her abilities.

Samantha Valente, this year’s winner of the Shirley Martin Scholarship, on stage

Our gratitude goes out to the volunteers who helped put this event together, including Michael Longcor, Kelsey Patton, and our sound engineer Allen Huff. Thank you as well to the young songwriters who applied for the Shirley Martin Scholarship this year, and the parents who encouraged them along the way. Another thank you goes out to the individuals and organizations who applied for the Metzger Legacy Award. We appreciate all of you, and we hope to see you again next year!