A WORD FROM OUR MUSICAL DIRECTOR

St Andrews Madrigal Group has given me so much during my first two years at university. As well as giving me the opportunity to resurrect my tenor which I’d thought was lost to time, it has maintained a vibrant and varied repertoire. Most importantly however, the group continues to foster a spirit of camaraderie among a special group of choral lovers who, I’m sure, will remain in close contact long after the mortarboards have been tossed and the graduation gowns begin to collect dust. With this in mind, I was eager to take on the role of MD upon going into my third year, and did so with a few aims for the group: to begin expanding our repertoire to include continental madrigals alongside the English set, and to continue the keen focus on blend and cohesion brought about by our ex-director, Will Thorne. Our October concert, which was very well-attended, provided an excellent opportunity for me to learn the ropes. It necessitated that I and the choir navigate our way from Gregorian chant and Medieval fauxbourdon to pieces hot off the press by living composers. The success of our first outing has given me tremendous confidence in the capabilities of this fantastic group of singers, and I am convinced that throughout the rest of this year the choir will continue to soar to new heights (indeed perhaps even higher than my now defunct Tenor register).