36th Madrigal Feaste, an evening of Renaissance music and food Dec 1-3

36th Madrigal Feaste, an evening of Renaissance music, food and entertainment, featuring the University of Central Arkansas Chamber Singers.

Tickets are now available for the 36th Madrigal Feaste, an evening of Renaissance music, food and entertainment, featuring the University of Central Arkansas Chamber Singers.
 
The event will take place nightly Dec. 1-3 at 7 p.m. in the McCastlain Hall Ballroom on the UCA campus. Seating will begin at 6:30. Tickets are $40 and may be purchased by calling UCA Ticket Central, (501) 450-3265 or (866) 810-0012.
 
The UCA Chamber Singers will don period costumes and serenade the audience with carols. A jester will also entertain the crowd.
 
John Erwin, associate professor of music and director of choral music at UCA, originally brought the Madrigal Feaste to UCA in 1975.
 
“It’s a very beautiful evening of candlelight, Renaissance costumes and beautiful voices,” Erwin said. “It’s an escape to the past. It’s nice to come to a place far removed from the everyday.”
 
The meal will include a choice of prime rib, Florentine chicken or vegetable plate with all the trimmings. Flaming plum pudding and wassail will also be served.
 
Every year the Feaste draws a large crowd from Arkansas and surrounding states, and Erwin said that it always sells out early.
 
“This is something people love to do,” he said. “The most common statement to me when people are leaving is that they say this starts their holiday season.” 

The Chamber Singers are part of the UCA Concert Choir, also under the direction of Erwin, which has been selected to perform at the American Choral Directors Association Southwest Convention in Dallas, Texas, on March 1, 2012. This is the eighth ACDA convention for which the UCA Concert Choir has been selected to perform (two national and six regional conventions). Choirs are selected for performance by a panel of directors screening recordings of three years work for each auditioning ensemble.

For this convention, the UCA Concert Choir is the only performing ensemble selected from the state Arkansas.

Erwin’s choirs have toured throughout the United States and Europe where they won two gold medals in the Riva Del Garda International Competition in Italy. Among other accomplishments, his choirs have been named Grand National Prize Winner of the Great American Choral Festival.

For more information, call (501) 450-5751 or e-mail nfogle@uca.edu.