Leo High School choir gets hometown support in AGT watch party

The journey of the Leo Catholic High School choir on the TV show “America’s Got Talent” has put Auburn Gresham, where the school has sat for nearly a century, on the national map. At a South Side watch party on Tuesday, cheers and screams erupted when the boys took the stage on the latest episode of the Simon Cowell-backed competition show.

Dozens of people, including students, teachers, school staff and community members, attended the party for the choir in the school’s auditorium.

Several attendees held signs featuring the faces of various teachers and staff (including the school’s now-retired choir director, LaDonna Hill) and wore t-shirts that read “Leo’s Got Talent.”

Neighbor Jasmine McCalpin wore a Leo choir hat as she encouraged the crowd to submit their votes online and streamed the event live on Facebook. The voting period was open until 6 a.m. Wednesday, and it relied on viewers across America to decide which of the 11 performing acts would make it to the next round. Results will be broadcast live tonight on NBC at 7 p.m.

“Pull those phones out,” McCalpin ordered. “How many email addresses do ya have?”

“Five!” an attendee shouted out. “That’s 50 votes! Vote, vote, vote!” McCalpin replied.

The panel of judges —including Cowell, Mel B, Sofía Vergara and Howie Mandel — praised the Leo choir’s performance, which was full of zealous choreography, near-perfect harmonizing and a solo from recent Leo graduate Ian Dunn.

The choir’s supporters were on their feet, dancing, clapping and cheering for the boys as they put their spin on “Centuries” by a group of fellow Chicagoans, the pop-punk band Fall Out Boy.

“Your harmonies are so good and so tight,” Mel B told the choir. “That was brilliant.”

Cowell said he’s gotten to know the boys very well in a short period of time. He called on America to “please, please give these boys and Mrs. Hill a chance to perform in the finals” with their votes.

“I think this act might be the act that has progressed the most,” he added. “I just really, really, really, really like you.”

Michael Moore journeyed from the Pullman neighborhood to attend the watch party and cheer on his 16-year-old son, Blake.

Blake is among the 18 boys currently in Pasadena, California, for the TV show. Outside of the choir, Blake is a power tumbling state champ and plays football. He’s an actor, too.

“Blake has always been in the limelight,” Michael said. “Seeing him up there is, it's the best thing ever, and that's what he likes to do. … It’s so good to see your kids doing what they love to do.”

Dorsey Smith traveled with her sister from her suburban home in Burnham for the watch party. Her son Joshua, 18, graduated this year and is now attending Xavier University of Louisiana to study neuroscience. Joshua has always loved music, Dorsey said, especially since he grew up in a singing family.

Being a part of the Leo choir “enhanced” Joshua’s high school experience, his mom said.

“Leo offers students opportunities that you don't see anywhere else, and being a member of the choir, he was able to go so many places,” Dorsey said. Now, her son is a part of the gospel choir at his university.

Smith also acknowledged the school staff who have helped support the choir’s journey to the national stage: “I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Yolanda Sandifer-Horton,” who is the choir manager. Sandifer-Horton sends out a daily schedule for the boys and makes sure everyone has what they need.

Assistant principal Titus Redmond has worked at Leo for over 20 years. Up until this school year, he was an English teacher. He’s holding down the fort at Leo while Sandifer-Horton and Leo principal Dr. Shaka Rawls are in Pasadena with the boys.

“We're all amazed by what has transpired here on the South Side of Chicago,” Redmond said.

“Those young men have been working very hard prior to even being noticed, and I think their hard work is what got them noticed. Now America is about to see what we've already known here in this building.”

He hopes the choir, now under the direction of Lonnie Norwood Jr., will reach even bigger stages in the future. He’s already got two in mind: By performing at a presidential inauguration in Washington, D.C., and for Chicago-born Pope Leo XIV in the Vatican City.

Especially “since he took our [school’s] name,” Redmond quipped.