Every year at Southeast, the Madrigals (Madz) travel to Kansas City for the annual Renaissance Festival. The Renaissance Festival is a convention honoring the fashion and the historical setting of the Renaissance (1500-1700). Much of the Renaissance is remembered for its exquisite art, culture, architecture, and advanced literature. Music during the Renaissance isn’t often appreciated; performances at the Renaissance Festival help bring to light the ornate music from this era. The pieces that Madrigals sing at the festival are appropriate for the time period, as many of the songs they perform were written during the Renaissance. 

Madrigals travel to the Renaissance Festival for the unique opportunity to sing music from a time period that is mostly underappreciated in the classical world. Southeast of Saline Madrigals push themselves to study and perform complicated acapella pieces, and then perform them for the audiences at the Renaissance Festival. 

The high-school SES choir teacher, Mrs. Boley, recounts why Madz travels to the festival every year: “We sing all a capella, which is a challenge. It gives us an opportunity to push ourselves to learn music from an early time period. There’s lots of choral music; the music we perform at the Renaissance Festival is secular, and it gives us a kind of a balance of styles. We go for the history and the music. And food.”

Madrigals sing multiple times throughout the day, all while experiencing the many different opportunities the Renaissance Festival has to offer in their free time. Live comedy performances, great musicians, and a plethora of shops and stalls are just a few of the many things that the Madz partake in throughout the day.

The Renaissance Festival has been a Southeast of Saline tradition for several years and gives Madz the chance to appreciate the old and unique cultures from the Renaissance Era. When asked what her favorite part of the festival was, Mrs. Boley states, “For me, personally, I like the way that it helps our group bond early in the year. The kids are always nervous before we perform because we never really feel ready; but by the second or third performance, their confidence just explodes, and I love that moment.¨ ♦