{"id":9817,"date":"2011-12-13T11:23:55","date_gmt":"2011-12-13T15:23:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/?p=9817"},"modified":"2012-01-03T17:26:32","modified_gmt":"2012-01-03T21:26:32","slug":"madrigal-dinner-a-renaissance-holiday-hit-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/2011\/12\/13\/madrigal-dinner-a-renaissance-holiday-hit-again\/","title":{"rendered":"Madrigal Dinner a renaissance holiday hit again"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Photo<\/a>

As regulars have come to expect, Jim McCutcheon pleased the crowd with his talented play of both the guitar and lute.<\/p><\/div>\n

Wright State University\u2019s Student Union Apollo Room was transformed into an English manor of the Renaissance era for the 29th annual Madrigal Dinner last week.<\/p>\n

The Madrigal Dinner invited attendees to step back into a holiday celebration as it would have happened in the Middle Ages.<\/p>\n

The evening began with a reception featuring wassail, a traditional hot, holiday drink.<\/p>\n

After the reception, guests were summoned to the table by a fanfare and viewed the procession of the lords and ladies accompanied by the Wright State Chamber Singers.<\/p>\n

Dinner followed the procession of the boar\u2019s head, an ancient yuletide custom. Guests enjoyed a medieval feast of stuffed turkey breast, beef and leek pie, plum pudding and many other delicious dishes.<\/p>\n

Entertainment wasprovided by lords and ladies, roving musicians, marionettes, singers, dancers and a court jester\u2014all in full Renaissance attire.<\/p>\n

Once again, Bill Rickert presided at the head table as \u201cLord of the Manor.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI haven\u2019t missed a night in the last 27 years,\u201d said Rickert, a recently retired associate provost and professor emeritus of communication. \u201cIt seems each one is better than the last.\u201d<\/p>\n

Music was directed by Drew Collins, assistant professor of music, and performed by the Wright State University Chamber Singers. Dancers and bearers are members of the Tudor Rose Dance Company, a group dedicated to recreating the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. The early music ensemble Wind in the Woods was also performed.<\/p>\n

The Madrigal Dinner, a Wright State tradition since 1983, is presented by the Student Union and Department of Music.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor me, the Madrigal Dinner is both the start and the highlight of the Christmas season,\u201d said Rickert.<\/p>\n\n\t\t