Walsingham Madrigals Present Free Christmas Concert Tonight

By Amber Lester Kennedy Tuesday, December 13, 2011

The Walsingham Madrigals have performed at the Olympics in China. Last year, they sang for the Pope in Vatican City. But tonight, locals can see them sing right here, for free.

The choir will present their annual Christmas Concert at 7 p.m. today at St. Bede Catholic Church in Williamsburg. The concert features both traditional Christmas hymns and more modern holiday classics, such as “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.”

Hours of rehearsal go into the concert, which is a Madrigals tradition. Although they only deliver one performance, the Madrigals rehearse for 40 minutes three times a week for most of the year, then add 7 a.m. practices before school closer to the performance date. On Monday, they rehearsed for five hours, only breaking for lunch.

Many of the seniors will be singing in their fifth and final Christmas concert, and take joy in perfectly executing their favorites, including “Ave Maria” and “Prayer of the Children.” For some, the concert is part of a family tradition. Senior Melissa Tussing remembers watching her older sister perform in the concert.

“My sister was one of the section leaders, so I got to kind of hang out with everybody, hang out at rehearsals and everything,” she said. “I thought it would be fun.”

The Madrigals will also perform their holiday songs at WTKR studios, to be aired throughout news broadcasts from 4 to 6:30 p.m. on Dec. 20. Five of their songs will be featured on WTKR’s “Sounds of the Season” show on Dec. 25.