Onteora High School’s Community Mentor Program offers students in grades 9-12 the opportunity to pursue their interests and passions — and perhaps their “dream” careers — with the guidance of community-based professionals. A passion for music inspired Onteora senior Analie Ingalsbe to participate in a songwriting and performance mentorship last year. She was paired with Donna Lewis, a Bearsville-based recording artist and songwriter.
Although the mentorship officially concluded last May, it is continuing to pay artistic dividends. Ingalsbe’s song “Modern Love,” which she wrote during her mentorship, was a winner in the New York State School Music Association (NYSSMA) All-State 2020 songwriting category. A second song, “Touch,” which Ingalsbe co-wrote with fellow Onteora musician Archie Lewis-Harris, was selected for the finals of the Electronic Music Composition Showcase for NYSMMA’s Cyber Summit, to be held from December 3-5. “Touch” also earned an honorable mention in the first-ever National Association for Music Education (NAfME) Student Songwriters Competition.
For her part, Lewis is thrilled with Ingalsbe’s accomplishments. “I absolutely love it when one of my mentees is chosen for the NYSSMA All-State Composer/Songwriter Honor Concert,” she said. “Last year my mentee Sophia Grinberg was chosen, and now Analie Ingalsbe has been selected. I love our school for having such an amazing mentorship program!”
“Modern Love,” primarily written in her bathroom at home (because of that room’s superior acoustics), not only benefited from Lewis’s creative input, but also from Onteora school board member Kevin Salem’s musical skills. “We went over to his studio, and he recorded a beautiful guitar track for the song!” Ingalsbe said.
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