Circling through the Fordham theater, a cappella and band scenes, Christina Priestner, FCRH ’26, has come to expand her role in Fordham’s musical scene. In her most recent endeavor, Priestner has come to front Fordham’s very own The Wave — a four piece band that plays shows around the city and was an opener at Spring Weekend in 2023.
Priestner grew up in a sports-centered household but discovered musical theatre when she was in the fifth grade. Theater not only served as her introduction to music, but also as her introduction to Fordham University.
“I wasn’t even supposed to come to Fordham. I was committed to Syracuse,” Priestner explained, in a phone interview. “But the assistant dean of admissions saw me in a show at the end of May before coming here and he was like ‘Why aren’t you coming to Fordham?’”
After visiting the Rose Hill campus, Priestner switched her commitment. When she arrived at Fordham, she began musical theatre during her very first semester, playing the character of Hope in “Urinetown.”
“The first club that I joined was the Mimes and Mummers because I was obsessed with theater, and I immediately did their first show, so my first show here was ‘Urinetown,’” said Priestner.
Emma Sheridan, FCRH ’26, has worked with Priestner at Mimes and Mummers ever since they were both first-years. “Christina has got such an amazing gift with her voice and I am so happy to have so many experiences with her.” she said. “I can tell that she is giving her all in whatever she does and that’s what makes her even more enjoyable to watch perform.”
It was during her next production with Mimes and Mummers that Priestner met the other members of her current band, The Wave. Priestner was playing Jesus in “Jesus Christ Superstar,” and the other three band members — Robbie Schier, Steven Morris and Matt Termine — were playing in the pit.
At the time, the three members of The Wave had won the annual Battle of the Bands hosted Rodrigue’s Coffee House — which carried the prize of an opener slot for Spring Weekend. The three-piece set found themselves in need of a singer — a role which Priestner soon filled.
“Matt had invited me to come and sing with them at Spring Weekend. So, the first time I ever sang with the guys was spring weekend opening for COIN,” she said.
Spring Weekend of 2023 was a rainy affair, with an outdoor concert on Martyrs’ Lawn having to be moved indoors to Lombardi Fieldhouse. It marked not only the first time Priestner sang with The Wave, but also her first time fronting a band.
She credits the band’s chemistry for making for a smooth performance, despite it being the first time on so many fronts.
“We all have so much fun, and there’s this chemistry that’s undeniable when we play together. When we opened for COIN, — and that being the first time ever performing together — it was like the universe aligned. It was just a perfect storm,” she said.
Regardless, Priestner’s Spring Weekend performance was a one-off show. She didn’t continue performing with The Wave until about this time last year. She’s been with them ever since. Last January, The Wave held their first gig at The Mercury Lounge.
“It was surreal,” she said. “It was nerve-wracking because we had written our first few songs together and we were already performing original music.”
In particular, songwriting has been a novel journey for Priestner since joining a band.
“Before this, I didn’t write lyrics for anything,” said Priestner. “When [the band] gave me the space to do that, that’s when we started putting out original music. It was really scary at first because you don’t know if people are going to like the lyrics that you write.”
Now, The Wave performs songs to crowds who know their lyrics enough to sing along.
“We have a ton of originals written,” said Priestner. “People will come to our shows and they’ll know the words to some of our original music, which is crazy. I never dreamed in a million years people would be singing back to me words that I wrote.”
Priestner credits her theater background with giving her the foundational skills needed to front a band through three-hour sets.
“If I hadn’t endured performances where I’m singing, dancing, and acting all at the same time, then I definitely wouldn’t be able to do two hour shows and three hour shows now,” explained Priestner. “Singing that many songs consecutively is always going to take a toll so having [a musical theatre background] to guide me and having my technique rooted in musical theatre just makes it so much easier now to get back into a show or back into the band.”
In the future, Priestner is hoping to put out an album with The Wave. They have several upcoming shows, including one on Feb. 15 at Wicked Willy’s.
“Wherever we go it’s going to be exciting,” explained Priestner. “I don’t see an end in sight. I always tell everyone whenever they miss a show, ‘Don’t worry, there’s always going to be another one.’”
