News and Progress
Alumnus Neal E. Boyd sings for Jefferson Club
Winner of America's Got Talent brings members to tears
Nov. 1, 2008
Neal E. Boyd, BA '01, is the 2008 winner of America's Got Talent. He sang at the Oct. 30 Jefferson Club dinner in St. Louis. Photo by Clay McGlaughlin
Only some alumni successfully held back tears when tenor Neal Boyd, BA ’01, sang for the Oct. 30 Jefferson Club dinner in St. Louis. The 2008 winner of America’s Got Talent tested their emotions with a moving mélange of “Mama” and “Ave Maria” before concluding with the alma mater.
The 215 guests, including Chancellor Brady Deaton and Chancellor Emeritus Richard Wallace, sprang to their feet as he finished. “They were enamored and so proud of him,” says Jefferson Club Director Susan Lowry. The reaction mirrored what television viewers nationally felt while following Boyd’s quest for the America’s Got Talent $1-million prize.
“It was fun to be back with the people who sent me to Carnegie Hall and to reminisce about the musical moments we’ve had together,” Boyd says. “As a student I dreamed of doing what I’m doing now — being a working singer.”
In 2000, when Boyd won the national collegiate vocal championship of the Music Teachers National Association, MU’s School of Music honored his achievement by booking a stage for him at Carnegie Hall.
Boyd was an unknown student then, but while walking in downtown Manhattan recently, he discovered how that has changed. “People walk by and call me by name, they honk their car horns and wave or they come rushing out of a restaurant to say, ‘great job on the show.’”
Since winning the title, Boyd has performed for a sell-out crowd of 5,000 as featured singer at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas and at various events in Chicago, St. Louis and New York. He’s focused now on selecting and recording music for his first CD, which should be released in May.
Finding music to fit Boyd’s full voice centers on songs — new, classical and contemporary — with soaring melodies. Chances are, Boyd’s new album will feature “Amazing Grace” — the first church solo he ever sang — as well as “Mama,” the televised tribute to his mother and grandmother that became a fan favorite.