Ann Marie and Miranda Morisette to share Madrigal experience

BY DANI TIETZ
dani@mahometnews.com

It’s been 30 years since Ann Marie Morisette performed as a Madrigal at Mahomet-Seymour High School.

But this weekend, her heart will be on the stage as her daughter, Miranda, a sophomore, performs with the beloved Mahomet-Seymour group.

When the Morisettes moved to Mahomet-Seymour five years ago, Ann Marie didn’t know if her daughter would be interested in being part of the elite Mahomet-Seymour chorus.

“Miranda has always loved singing, but for a long time, group singing wasn’t her thing,” Ann Marie said. “When we moved to Mahomet, in her sixth-grade year, I was just happy that she wanted to participate in choir.”

Ann Marie invited her daughter to the Madrigal dinner two years later. 

“I was pleasantly surprised when she told me she was auditioning because I didn’t think she was interested at all,” Ann Marie remembers.

“She has always had a style all her own; I didn’t want to change that about her, but I told her that Madrigals would give her more versatility as a musician.”

Ann Marie, who went on to graduate from the University of Illinois with bachelors and masters degrees in vocal performance, currently teaches music at Barkstall Elementary, in Champaign, and is the conductor of the Concert Choir of the Central Illinois Youth Chorus.

She helped her daughter prepare for auditions her freshman and sophomore years.

“It was fun for me,” Ann Marie said. “It’s always a fine line to walk as a singer/teacher when you’re coaching your own child, but in the end I think she was happy to have someone who could sing or play the other parts with her.”

Miranda said that she did not feel pressured to audition for Madrigals, but enjoyed listening to her mom’s stories about the four years she performed. 

“It was something that I wanted to do,” she said. “It was kind of like just a coincidence, like, ‘Oh my gosh, she did this and I’m doing this now.”

“When we first moved back here from Champaign, she was all excited about how I got to go to the same high school that she did,” Miranda said.

Going to school functions together, Ann Marie shared stories of the past with her daughter.

“She was able to share all the memories that she had here, and just tell me all about them. I get to build my own memories here in the exact same place that she did. And she’s very excited about it,” Miranda said.

Lady Miranda, as she is known in costume, began performing with the Madrigals as they visited churches, the Mahomet Public Library and Village Christmas in November and the early part of December. 

This weekend, the group will host two dinners and an afternoon dessert at Mahomet-Seymour High School. 

Leading up to the culmination of almost a years’ worth of work, Miranda has been nervous, not about the concerts, but rather the traditions she may not know about as a newcomer.

“There are a few of them that nobody has told me about yet,” she said. “And so, I am very nervous and excited to go to the dinners and figure out these traditions that I have no idea are going to happen.”

But for both Ann Marie and Miranda, the highlight of being a Madrigal is the friendships that are formed. 

“I definitely told her about the great friendships that form when you’re part of an ensemble like this,” Ann Marie said. 

While she may not always want to go to perform with a group, Miranda said that once she hears the sound their voices create together, the experience is worth it.

“Being able to do that with that group of people kind of made it worth getting up early in the morning,” she said.

Miranda is excited to see the look on her mom’s face and the stories that she has after the weekend is over.

They already reminisced about old costumes and old friends when the Madrigal invitations came out. 

“The memories that come along with everything I’m kind of excited to see her reaction to them,” Miranda said. 

This won’t be the last time the duo gets to experience the magic of Madrigals together. Miranda will still have two more years in the program.

“It’s really been an amazing experience for me watching her,” Ann Marie said. “I’m always amazed at how comfortable she seems in front of an audience.

“I look forward to watching her grow as a musician and performer in the next few years of high school,” Ann Marie said. “I’m grateful that MSHS offers such top-notch music program.”