March 2015
An annual tradition at
NAU, Northern Arizona University, is the Madrigal Jazz Festival. It is one of the largest choral gatherings of
its kind in the southwestern United States.
The NAU choral groups host the event performing along with professionals
and talent of national stature. Over 140
high school choral groups from Arizona and nearby states attended. Students had the opportunity to perform in
front of each other exposing them to many different styles and even received
rankings from a panel of judges.
Attendees also participated in a short workshop where they were the
benefactors of the expertise of two accomplished veteran directors.
Our Vocal Ensemble
class performed several times. For the
madrigal portion they sang as a group to the tunes of “April is in my Mistress’
Face” and “ll Fortunato”, both pieces being from the Renaissance era as well as
“Musick’s Empire” which is a contemporary choral piece. For their jazz numbers the ensemble
harmonized the melody “I’ve Got You Under My Skin” in a Frank Sinatra
styling. They also belted out Billy
Joel’s “Lullabye” and “Ain’t Misbehavin’”.
Song birds Sierra Mckean, Jacob Denton, and Kamryn Rivas even had the
opportunity to do some solo singing.
For their efforts, our
vocalists received an Excellent ranking in both categories which is the second
highest possible award received during this festival. Once again, NAU’s festival is a hit with our
choral enthusiasts as they spread their wings by performing in such an
expansive venue and came away with new knowledge about the art of which they
have so much passion for.