As seen in the Nov. 8 issue
Brenda Mehdian, staff writer
Madrigals will carol throughout the streets of Beverly Hills during the month of December in order to fundraise for their competition in Chicago with the Worldstrides Heritage Festival, during which they will compete against other high schools from around the world.
“Caroling is a great tradition not only for Madrigals but also for music. This is a great way for us to fundraise and for our competition, the community to become familiar with Madrigals and reflects positively on the school in general,” Madrigals adviser Ethan Smith said
The caroling will take place at various spots on Rodeo Drive and Beverly Drive. Members of Madrigals will be split up into smaller groups in order to reach a larger audience in hopes of raising more money.
“If we all are in one place, not only can it be overwhelming, but it is also not very efficient. When we split up, it is a manageable amount of people and we are also able to spread the holiday spirit to more people,” senior Anthony Lofaso said.
Before being sung to, audience members will make a donation to the cause, after which, they will be able to enjoy an array of songs. Some of these songs include “Go Tell it on a Mountain,” “Jingle Bells,” “We are One,” and “Joy to the World”.
“My favorite song is definitely ‘Still, Still, Still’ because it is a song that Madrigals has been singing ever since it began caroling,” senior Shana Kheradyar said. “But the most challenging song would have to be ‘Claire de Lune in Blue’ because there are no words, it is just a bunch of sounds.”
Madrigals has been using this method of fundraising since ex-adviser Joel Pressman was the head of Madrigals. However, caroling is not the main source of fundraising for competitions. According to Kheradyar, the central way Madrigals attains the needed funds for these competitions is through their concerts. The students have also collaborated with Smith in order to put together other fundraisers throughout the year.
Through their various forms of fundraising, Madrigals has been able to go to competitions in places such as New Zealand, Hawaii, China New York and more.
“We are trying to do as many fundraisers as possible, even more than last year. It has been very hard with all the changes but we have been able to pull through,” Kheradyar said.
For this upcoming festival, Madrigals will also be holding a concert in December, performing at various churches and singing at American Girl Doll stores.
The ideal amount of money to be raised has not been determined because this is based upon the number of Madrigals who are unable to pay the full amount for the trip.
Madrigals hopes that their caroling will be able to stream in as much money as their last fundraiser, which brought in $2,500.