School choir presents madrigal dinner

Friday, February 4, 2011
Dressed in Renaissance costumes, Sikeston High School choir students rehearse music for the upcoming madrigal dinner. Set for 7 p.m. Feb. 12 at the First United Methodist Church Fellowship Hall in Sikeston, each course of the English feast will come with traditional music performances and dramatic play. Tickets are $25 and can be purchased at Collins Music. Leonna Heuring, staff

SIKESTON -- Sikeston High School's choir is traveling back into Medieval time and is looking to bring some Sikeston residents along for the journey.

The school's choir members will present a madrigal dinner beginning at 7 p.m. Feb. 12 the First United Methodist Church Fellowship Hall in Sikeston.

Sikeston High School choir teacher Abe Leach said he was looking for a way to bring traditional music alive to his students when he first thought of putting on the English dinner.

"A lot of times, you have to cover things that maybe aren't as interesting to the students on the onset, and maybe they aren't as interested as they could be," Leach said.

That's when Leach thought of organizing a madrigal dinner -- something he said he's always wanted to do.

"Why not do this (madrigal dinner), give them a taste of the culture and show them what the time was like? They can experience what a real feast was like and understand how this music was used," Leach said.

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