By BSU Alumni & Foundation
Published 4:47 pm on December 6, 2024
Long winter nights are a perfect time to reminisce about favorite Bemidji State traditions. Many of our alumni remember – or even participated in – our famed Madrigal Dinners during the yuletide season.
The Madrigal Dinners were founded at BSU in 1969 under the tenure of Dr. Paul Brandvik, professor emeritus of vocal music, and ran for 50 years until it was retired in 2018.
The dinners combined musical, visual, dramatic and culinary arts into an evening that transcended time. The unique take on dinner theater simulated a renaissance world, complete with Christmas carols, traditional cuisine and yuletide charm. Since their debut at Bemidji State, the dinners have been performed throughout Minnesota, Washington and Wisconsin.
The first Madrigal Dinner, in 1969, was held downstairs in Hickory Hall (now named Decker Hall). By today's standards, it was very simply done: paper tablecloths, inexpensive fabric costumes and a script that told the jester to "tell some jokes." A rare instant success, those first performances had to add up to 40 extra chairs each night to accommodate more than 300 guests.
Over the years, a wardrobe of authentic medieval costumes were designed and sewn by Brandvik's wife, Mary Lou, and various assistants. New costumes were made each year as old ones were retired or resized.
In 1972, the dinners were moved to the then-newly completed Beaux Arts Ballroom. By this time, the performances included elaborate costumes and set, a brass quartet fanfare and a recorder consort. For its final two years, the show moved off campus to Salolampi, the Finnish Village at Concordia Language Villages just north of Bemidji.
The decision to discontinue the Madrigal Dinner tradition was made only after careful consideration and extensive conversations between BSU alumni, local music supporters, the music department's faculty and even Brandvik, the event's founder. Both Paul and Mary Lou Brandvik were in attendance for the final opening night.
The 50th and final Madrigals concluded in December 2018, and the production restaged the original 1969 masque. Dwight Jilek, Bemidji State's director of choral activities, said the final performance – which encompassed a half-century of tradition – was a fitting opportunity to give the Madrigal Dinners "a dignified and honorable end."
Madrigal Dinners were beautiful productions, and we're proud that they created such wonderful memories for so many alumni!
KEEP READING: