Richard Montgomery’s Choral Teacher, Mrs. Carrie Eyler, received news that the RM Madrigals won the 1st annual mix107.3 Holiday Choir Competition on Friday, December 8, 2017. The call she received from the Jack Diamond Morning show around 7:20 a.m. that morning notified her of the Madrigal victory, and her joy was audible.
““It was really exciting, especially because it’s my first year here, so it was a total surprise. And we worked hard, to get it, but, I still didn’t expect to win so it was a really awesome moment of just feeling excited and overjoyed by something nice happening that you weren’t expecting,” said Mrs. Eyler.
Like all the other high school chorus teachers in the DMV area, Mrs. Eyler received an email informing her that she could submit a festive holiday song to the mix 107.3 radio station for a chance to win $5,000 for her school’s music program. The Madrigals chose to sing “A Holly Jolly Christmas”, a song that many enjoyed.
“Honestly, it was really fun. During the beginning, it was a little weird, you know, I’m trying to get used to music, but as we practiced I really started to enjoy it and start to have my own jamming out session when we sang. I really loved it,” said junior Reggie Shardow.
Although Mrs. Eyler didn’t expect her singers to triumph over more than 50 other high school choirs, sophomore Thalia Peters could see how instrumental the choral teacher was in their win.
“She’s incredibly cheerful and incredibly fun and has a way of getting everyone interested and energetic for whatever we try to do, and that was a big thing that played into our performance because we needed the Christmas spirit and her happiness and cheerfulness is just so infectious,” said Peters.
When the Madrigals received word of their success, the ensuing Choral class period was fraught with elation.
“The energy was absolutely insane. So, we found out in the morning– a couple people were listening to Mrs. Eyler being interviewed on the radio when she found out that she won and there were a couple people running around in the morning screaming that we won. In class, the energy was just so high because we were just so excited that we got the opportunity,” said junior Rachel Frampton.
Although the Madrigals had won the competition, their work was not yet done. On Friday, December 15, 2017, the musical group performed “A Holly Jolly Christmas” live on the Jack Diamond Morning Show.
“When we were at the radio station Friday morning, we got a little tour and they told us about working in radio and stuff like that. So it was pretty interesting,” said junior Abby Gillman.
The next day, the Madrigals sang a mini concert at The Shops at Wisconsin Place in Chevy Chase, Maryland. Shoppers at the plaza stopped to listen to their rendition of “Carol of the Bells,” “A Holly Jolly Christmas,” “Lux Aurumque,” “Ecco mormorar l’onde” and “Lo V’chayil.”
At the end of their performance, Jimmy Alexander presented Mrs. Eyler and the Madrigals with a large, $5,000 check.
Videos and pictures of the Madrigal holiday radio and concert performances, can be viewed here and here.
