Curie High School vocal group wows on ‘America’s Got Talent’

A beautiful noise is emanating from a stairwell in Curie Metropolitan High School on Chicago’s Southwest Side, and on Tuesday night, millions of television viewers got the chance to hear it when that school’s vocal ensemble, Musicality, competed on “America’s Got Talent.”

One standing ovation later, and with high praises from judges Heidi Klum, Mel B, Howie Mandel and Simon Cowell, Musicality is off to the next round of competition on the NBC hit series. Ultimately there’s a $1 million dollar prize for the winner (crowned later this summer) but that’s getting way ahead of the game.

“This is an after-school, extracurricular activity,” said Michael Gibson, an 11-year faculty member at the school, who teaches music and co-created Musicality along with student members. “It’s all done on our own time. We get no funding from CPS for this activity. If we need money, we fund-raise.”

Musicality started eight years ago, Gibson says, after the school’s drama/music program was at first curtailed and then pretty much eliminated due to funding cuts.

“We used to do musicals at Curie before the drama program was diminished,” Gibson said. Shows such as “Bye Bye Birdie” and “Into the Woods” were among the roster. “The drama class returned just this year. But it was the kids, eight years ago, who really enjoyed doing the musicals who asked if I could continue the music. So I asked, will you guys come after school every day to rehearse and really dedicate yourselves to this? And they said yes.”

Gibson does all the arrangements, and the students, who must maintain a passing-grade G.P.A. to sing in the ensemble, are divided into the four choral classes: alto, tenor, soprano and bass. Students must audition for soloist spots.

“We really like to share the responsibility for soloist spots; we try to share the wealth,” Gibson said with a chuckle.

For their first round on “AGT,” the group covered One Direction’s big hit, “Night Changes,” a choice that did not go unnoticed by the judges’ panel, especially a smiling Simon Cowell, who created that uber boy band.

“We didn’t have any time to pick up something new because [the audition call from the show] came very fast,” Gibson said. “There was just no time to work on something new. It was a song that many members from last year already knew, so we felt it was the right choice. And we made it long before it was announced that Simon Cowell was joining the judges’ panel. It was a scary surprise when we found out!”

Which brings us to that stairwell at Curie.

“Yes, we really do practice in a stairwell,” Gibon said. “For many years there wasn’t a place for us to practice because after school there’s so much other stuff going on in classrooms. And it was the only place with a piano. They stored a piano [an upright] under the stairs. [Though the fire marshall had it removed this year due to fire codes].

“We were in a classroom for a while. Then we were in the piano lab, which is not a good place for a choir because there are pianos everywhere. [Laughs] Then we were in a drama classroom but we were too loud because it was in an academic wing. So the stairwell has been our home [though they also now use an auditorium where the piano can be easily wheeled in]. And yes, the acoustics in the stairwell are really amazing.”

The ensemble practices three hours a day, five days a week. For the students, it’s a respite from the all too harsh reality of the tough neighborhood streets surrounding the school.

“The program really gives them a safe haven, somewhere to belong,” Gibson said. “All of them are teens striving to find out who they are. They’re striving to find out what they want to do in life. Giving them that safe place to express themselves through music is really important for them.

“The administration is very supportive of us [and] realizes the program is great for our school. And it’s not costing them anything, and the building is open [after school for other activities] anyway,” Gibson said, when asked if he fears further CPS funding cuts could put an end to Musicality. Several of the group’s alumni have gone on to study performing arts at the college level, with one student moving to New York to study acting and singing professionally.

“This is a good program serving a real purpose,” Gibson said. “We do two concerts a year at the school now. Just hearing the students and seeing their faces is such a good feeling for me. I really believe I’ve built something that has a positive impact on their lives. … I want people to see how genuine and real these kids are. They’re so kindhearted. They work so hard. They are so dedicated. A lot of times we look at urban youth and we really don’t expect much from them. I want people to see that there are urban kids out there who are absolutely amazing and who are our future and who can do amazing things. Some of their dreams really can come true.”

The next round of competition has already been taped, but Gibson and the group are sworn (and no doubt contractually obligated) to secrecy about its results.

“It’s the highlight of my job,” Gibson said, of Musicality. “It’s the one part of my job that I don’t get paid for, and it’s the one part of my job I love the most.”

“America’s Got Talent” airs Tuesday nights on NBC.