NL_122018

16 | December 20, 2018 | The New Lenox Patriot LIFE & ARTS
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Lincoln-Way Central celebrates
49 years of Madrigal magic
Rochelle McAuliffe
Freelance Reporter
Forty-nine years of excellence.
Forty-nine years of
tradition.
Since 1970, the Lincoln-
Way community has celebrated
the season with the
sound of music – performed
by none other than their own
Lincoln-Way Central Madrigal
Singers. During the
weekend of Dec. 6-8, the
group once again enchanted
the community with their
49th Annual Madrigal Dinner.
Singing music from centuries
long ago, as well as
contemporary holiday carols,
the annual madrigal
performance and dinner invited
families, friends and
members of the community
to celebrate the efforts of the
students who comprise the
longest running madrigal
group in the state.
“This program has almost
become word-of-mouth,”
said choral director Mike
Bultman. “If you’re a singer
at LWC, this is one of
the things you aspire to. If
you’re a part of the community,
you want to be there.”
“It’s the starting point of
the holiday season for me.
It’s lovely to hear all the
Christmas carols,” said Helen
Zajac, the proud grandmother
of Maggie Zajac,
adding that Maggie sings
“beautifully.”
As guests first entered the
Lincoln-Way Central Fine
Arts Hall, they were immediately
greeted to the lovely
sounds of three instrumental
ensembles in the foyer outside
the auditorium. When it
was time to enter the “banquet
hall” on stage, a guitar
ensemble gently played
through in the “castle” as
guests were transported
into the medieval world that
Lincoln-Way Central Madrigals (left to right) Emily Lange,
senior; Brooke Rush, sophomore; Bridget Gaier, senior;
Sammi Boyle, senior; and Kamryn Samoska, senior, greet
guests Dec. 8 with their music from their brass ensemble.
Rochelle McAuliffe/22nd Century Media
awaited them.
Throughout the evening,
guests would be entertained
by a show that included
a jester, the king and the
queen, as well as the lovely
sound of the madrigal
choirs woven into the script.
As they watched the performance
onstage, guests were
able to feast on roast beef,
chicken, potatoes, green
beans, rolls, hot cider, coffee
and bread pudding, prepared
by the LWC cafeteria
staff.
Tommy Mountford is no
stranger to Madrigal performances.
With two sisters
who performed with the
group and now a brother who
is a member of the Madrigals,
the dinner performances
around the holidays are
something familiar, but still
special. On Saturday evening,
he attended the event
with girlfriend Amanda Kies
to show their support.
While the bread pudding
is a huge draw for Mountford,
he loves seeing his
brother James perform with
his family away from home
in the LWC music department.
“With my brother, it was
hard for him to find a place
at first where he fit in, but
band and choir has made
him feel at home,” Mountford
said. “The directors are
key in that.”
“We’re a musical family
and an emotional family, and
we’re able to create something
that none of us could
have done on our own,”
Bultman said.
In the hallway that leads
to the stage, the coat of arms
hanging in the hallway is
decorated by past students.
On the stage, the original
Yule log from the first Madrigals
performance, complete
with 49 years of candle
wax drippings.
“It’s very moving because
I’m still close with
[Charles Stark], the director
who started the Madrigals
in 1970. I know all the
heart and soul he put into
this program,” said Stacey
Williams-Jackson, music
chair at LWC. “When I look
at the sets and scenery from
years past, the original Yule
log, all the students as they
come onstage and to hear the
songs they’ve sung for the
last 49 years, it really means
a lot to me.
“Not just me, but the community,”
she said.