Pioneer High School’s (PHS) Future Stars has finally returned to the stage in full force, following the COVID-19 pandemic and a mold infestation at PHS’ Schreiber Auditorium. The singing competition was hosted at the Power Center due to PHS renovations and featured 30 performers, as well as the Rising Stars (a group of freshman and sophomores).
This year’s winner was Charlie Duke, a PHS senior who has been in choir since middle school, was a Rising Star freshman year and sang “Your Man,” a country song by Josh Turner.
Duke has always appreciated country music because it often fits his vocal range. “Your Man” was one of the first songs he learned to play on guitar after friends said his deep voice reminded them of it.
“A big thing that kept me going in choir was that my voice dropped,” Duke said. “I was one of two basses in the seventh grade and I liked having that unique factor.”
At Future Stars, Duke’s voice earned him a rousing cheer from over 1,000 members after the opening line. Although Duke said he was expecting a reaction, its size shocked him.
“I was expecting maybe a little something,” Duke said. “I wasn't expecting anything near the kind of reaction I got then, at all. I mean, that was insane. It was very reassuring. I think that kind of helped me get into it a bit more.”
Kid Jay, a rapper who received four “yeses” on America’s Got Talent and judged Future Stars this year, said Duke’s voice was “pearled and perfect,” especially for a young age. Jay started his own music career at 15, but he was creating rhythms with friends at his elementary school lunch table long before that. His main advice for those wanting to perform is to be true to themselves.
“Just be you,” Jay said. “Don't try to fall into the stereotype of the industry or feel like you have to be a particular sound to be heard. As long as your music is authentic to you, and as long as you're consistent with it, somebody has to eventually listen to it.”
For Suri Gaiana, a finalist who performed “Misery Business” by Paramore, Future Stars has allowed them to be authentic. During Gaiana’s performance, they played into the “rocker energy” as their performances often do, knocking over mics and kicking into the air. They worked with the vocal coach to find a song that allowed them to dance across the stage and interact with the audience while not having to rely on a guitar.
“I decided this year to put myself out there a little bit more because I use the guitar as a bit of a crutch,” Gaiana said. “I don't have to do as much and there's no awkward standing when I have to play [guitar] so I challenged myself to do songs where I wouldn't get to [do] that.”
"I think even more so than in past years, people really, really wanted to prepare and show that we were able to traverse these past two years and get through it and still keep our musical chops. I think there was more emotion behind all of the songs because of everything everyone's gone through and how much we've missed. That excitement to be back on stage mixed with the feelings of missing so much; there was a thread of that that ran through every single performance in the night and I think that's what elevated it to something beyond just a normal future stars" - Suri Gaiana, Future Stars 2022 finalist,Photos by Cate Weiser
Following a sophomore year performance of “Welcome to the Jungle,” peers expect rocker energy from them, which they don't mind, said Gaiana. But, this year, Future Stars gave them the chance to try new things with their voice, which they did in a trio performance of “Hallelujah.”
“I got to showcase different sides of my voice,” Gaiana said. “I really like that about Future Stars and that everyone has two songs. They tend to be different so that you can showcase a more soulful, belty side or a super high energy side or a cutesy side or anything. You can show the judges and the audience that we're all multifaceted, multitalented performers.”
Future Stars, Choir and the Pioneer Theatre Guild (PTG) has not just allowed PHS senior and third-time finalist Cali Hill to showcase her voice; it has allowed her to craft an entirely new identity.
“I feel like as an artist I've been able to create this person on stage where I can just generate this energy,” Hill said. “And it's super electric and it's different than when I'm not on stage where I'm just fun, bubbly, goofy and making jokes. But when I'm on stage, it's like a whole other person…I feel like the person has always been there, especially when I was younger because I've always had really big aspirations in life to be a performer. But PTG helped me release that person [by] putting me in so much exposure like Future Stars.”
Hill, who performed “Think” by Aretha Franklin, grew up surrounded by music. Her mother was a performer and most of her family plays an instrument. Hill plays guitar, piano and writes songs, which she is waiting for the right time to release.
When Hill is performing in front of a live audience, she believes she can reach her potential in terms of energy and quality. While she did participate in last year’s virtual Future Stars, it didn’t feel the same to Hill without an audience.
Matthew Altruda, an 11-time Future Stars judge, radio host, local music promoter and concert curator, said the pandemic has been hard for many in the music industry who depend upon live shows and have had to turn to office jobs. Despite the challenges, he is hopeful for the future of music.
“My hope is this, if you think about the 1920s, there were the roaring 20s,” Altruda said. “Why was it the roaring 20s? Because they just got done with the Spanish flu. And they were ready to roar. And I hope that we can come out of this pandemic and people who haven't been to live music for a while will be revved up to do so. And I really hope that shows will do extremely well.”
Altruda believes music is the ultimate community builder and core of the human species. Future Stars is his “most favorite thing ever” and, this year, he saw a certain quality in the performers after them being separated from audiences and each other for so long.
“Every one of those musicians and future stars worked for weeks singing songs, playing songs, putting their dance recital together, whatever it may be,” Altruda said. “When they finally hit the stage, it is their time to enjoy it and all their hard work, it's a celebration. And when you have a live audience, and that many people sharing energy with you, you can feel it. it was great. I thought all of them were super fired up, to say the least.”
For students looking to become more involved in the music industry, Altruda recommends getting started with college radios, bands and, finding something you’re passionate about and seeing how talents and interests can peak.
“My love for music has been rooted in me from growing up in my house with my family,” Altruda said. “I was always listening to The Beatles growing up and listening to just great music and as a teen I realized early on that if you hung up concert posters, you got free tickets. So I was street teaming and helping the bands I love and really that street teaming just got me one step closer to the industry. And then I just kept on doing it and then it just opened up new jobs and I was working music retail, like anything I really could just to be involved with it.”
For Zoe Reséndez, a senior and finalist who has been a part of PTG since freshman year, the most important part about theater and performing is the community.
“The heart of PTG is its people and our traditions, and the beauty of carrying the traditions that we know as seniors down to our younger generations of PTG,” Reséndez said. “The most important part of PTG to me is a sense of community and inclusion and my hope is that I have contributed and done my best to keep that sense of community and sense of everybody's welcome alive.”
Ann Arbor Mayor Christopher Taylor, a five-time Future Stars judge, also values the event’s collaboration and community-building.
“It's personally satisfying, of course, to perform but the process, the collaboration with, in this context, a partner if you're singing a duet or trio or quartet, the backstage camaraderie, is often incredible,” Taylor said. “Working with the band too. It's such an amazing project and I'm so glad that so many students were able to do it again this year.”
Hadden VanDorn Greer, a freshman and PTG student house manager, said despite constant changes due to the new location and pandemic, the flexibility of the cast and crew allowed Future Stars to go on without a hitch.
VanDorn Greer has been blown away by the production of the three Pioneer shows she has been a part of. She was Tappan Middle School’s first-ever seventh-grade stage manager for the Tappan Players and is honored to be a stage manager as a first-year high school student.
“I just want to somehow be a part of every single show they do,” she said. “This place is like a home to me now. I've made so many friends and I've had so many happy memories with this guild and I really just want to help it grow and help them move along as the productions continue.”
After the excitement of Future Stars and his win, Duke says he is grateful for the attention but ready for things to calm down again. He hopes to become more involved in local music after graduation, as well as his own relationship with music.
Hill dreams of performing in front of an even larger audience and expanding her music.
“It [music] is just really what I love to do, and I don't really see myself doing anything else but that,” Hill said.