This musical holiday season commenced with the Sacred Heart Greenwich Madrigals placing third overall in the News12 Connecticut 2023 Sounds of the Season contest. The Madrigals received a nomination from Ms. Amy Greer, Middle School Math Teacher. They recorded an a cappella rendition of Mr. Peter J. Wilhousky’s arrangement of “Carol of the Bells,” a holiday classic and annual tradition at the Christmas concert, and submitted it to the annual contest. Their performance accumulated a total of 2,018 votes.
Each year, News12 viewers nominate local singers and musicians for the News12 Sounds of the Season contest in News12 regions across New York, Connecticut, and New Jersey. Nominees are then able to submit video performances of holiday songs to be voted on. Ms. Greer explained how she heard about the contest and expressed her appreciation for the group.
“One morning, I turned on Channel 12 and I saw the contest. It was a no-brainer for me to nominate our awesome Madrigals!” Ms. Greer said. “I hope the Madrigals enjoy the recognition of being one of the winners in the contest. They are an amazingly talented group of young ladies, led by a wonderful and equally amazing teacher, Miss Etheridge.”
The Madrigals recorded and sent in a video performance of “Carol of the Bells” in the Lennie and John de Csepel Theatre. They landed a spot in the Top 12 nominees in Connecticut. During the viewer voting period from Monday, November 13 to Friday, November 19, the Madrigals accumulated over 2,000 votes and won third place overall in the Connecticut region. The Madrigals’ video performance of “Carol of the Bells” aired starting November 21 on Mornings on News12 and featured in the Sounds of the Season show this Monday.
Miss Annette Etheridge, Middle and Upper School Music Teacher, Choral Director and Middle School Musical Music Director, has worked in the Sacred Heart music department for 19 years and has been the Madrigals director for 14 years. Miss Etheridge commented on how the contest uplifted and brought the school community together during the holiday season.
“We banded together as a community, everybody was voting for the Madrigals,” Miss Etheridge said. “It was just exciting, they’d tell me in the hallway, ‘I voted today’ so that was kind of fun, everybody was just showing their support for the Madrigals.”
Featured Image by Caroline Gammon ’26
