Senior Madrigals perform their last concert at the Emmanuel Episcopal Church of LaGrange Dec. 7. (Photo courtesy of Kevin Townsend ’24.)

The lights were dimmed low, the stage was set, and an audience awaited the winter Madrigals concert in the Emmanuel Episcopal Church of LaGrange Dec. 7. The sounds of the Renaissance era filled the church as Madrigal member Kevin Townsend ‘24 and many other students performed their work after hours of practice during the holiday season. 

Practicing three to four times a week for an hour before school starts defines the weekly Madrigal schedule for sophomores and juniors, Townsend said. With the senior Madrigal schedule requiring an understanding of vocals and lyrics, Townsend must put in many hours of practice during his rehearsals. 

“Normally we will get to rehearsal, warm up for a bit, then take out a song that we’ve been working on to see if we know it and if we’re memorized,” he said. “Then we will move on to another song and learn parts of it, such as pronunciation, if the song is in another language, or dynamics.”

With roughly 16 members in senior Madrigals and another 28 between the sophomores, juniors, and seniors, working together is vital for success, Madrigal member Jenna Eggerding ‘25 said. Precision and fluidity directly impact the final result and only through practicing the intricate details of the songs can the sound resonate to its fullest. 

“I think the most important step is the process of learning the songs,” Townsend said. “This is where all the accuracy comes from, and where we start to make music.”

This practice can vary in form from day to day with certain days targeting different aspects of the sound. 

“We devote three days a week to rehearsing the Madrigals song set, and on the other two days we work on solo vocal performances,” member Natalie Halm ‘24 said. “We always try to do a mix of more ancient classical pieces and modern pieces, we had a song in Hebrew and a song in Polish, as well as two classical Christmas carols.”

This inclusion of foreign songs to the set adds to the Renaissance theme as well as brings a variety of sounds to the stage. One concert in particular was the Winter Madrigals concert at the Emmanuel Episcopal Church of LaGrange.

“The winter Madrigals concert has been happening as long as I’ve known and it’s just a super fun way to get into the holiday spirit,” Eggerding said. “ It’s a way for us to show the work we’ve put in, and for other people to have some fun listening to our music. My favorite part is definitely the dress rehearsal the night before. It’s so fun to hear how the music sounds in the space, and we get to know each other so much better.”