On Feb. 27, WJ’s Madrigals performed in Rhode Island at the American Choral Directors Association’s Envision: Providence 2026, an event they auditioned for and were selected to participate in.
“We were one of very few high schools that got to perform, so it was a huge deal that we were good enough,” senior Ellie Coffey said.
The Madrigals have existed since the 1960s performing high level music at multiple events. The Madrigals is an audition only group and counts as an AP level choir course only available to sophomores, juniors and seniors. In order to be considered to join, students will have to be in choir freshman year then audition at the end of that year.
The Madrigals performance was at the Veterans Memorial Auditorium. A conference where many different groups performed many different styles of songs like pop, Renaissance music and Italian music.
The Madrigals prepared for months leading up to the event. Every day in class and after school, they spent time supporting each other and practicing for the performance.
“I’ve never prepared for something this hard in chorus class, and I’m really glad we just came together and did what we love,” senior Clifford Hubbard said.
Chorus teacher Kelly Butler provided the tools to lead the singers to a successful performance. Her calmness helped the singers to not feel nervous and the singers wanted to live up to her leadership.
“It was really important to showcase Mrs. Butler because she is such an amazing teacher,” senior Ellie Coffey said. “I think being able to have her recognized was the main point of it.”
Preparing for the event did not come without trials and tribulations. Madrigals is a small class, so they have developed a close bond with each other, spending time both in and outside of class, including rehearsals, dinners and cleaning.
“It felt more like a community,” sophomore Hayley Mulema said. “I feel like we’re all very close to each other, so it felt very tight knit.”
The Madrigals represented WJ in a prestigious event which brought fourth the amount of talent and disciplines that are present in different classrooms. This experience also showed students the real impact of their performance.
“We really got to see how impactful our music is to a community of people,” Mulema said. “That really helped us feel more motivated to actually do well, and because we saw the importance of it.”
