For Wichita State Choir Director Tom Wine, the annual Candlelight Christmas Concert is all about tradition.

The WSU teacher expressed enthusiasm for the sold out show that took place Sunday night, which saw his choir group, the Madrigal Singers, perform. Four different choir groups performed at the concert.

“It’s one of the longest standing traditions here at WSU,” he said. “It’s stood the test of time because it reaches out to people with such great music and with such heart and energy.”

Wine explained how he selected the songs Madrigal sang throughout the concert.

“As a teacher, I try to introduce students to a variety of styles,” he said. “As a person who programs for the audience, I try to get a variety of emotional responses from the audience, so you balance education and entertainment.”

Chandler Williams, alto singer for Madrigal, said an annual concert is part of Christmas cheer.

“An integral part of Christmas is songs,” she said. “A lot of the times feelings is more than just one sense, you know, it’s hearing and seeing and smelling, so this is just one part of that.

People that come, come every year, because it brings back those good feelings that music invokes in somebody.”

Junior Daniel Larrison also sang with Madrigal. The vocal performance major revealed his love for Christmas music and said he encouraged the campus community to attend the next concert at 7:30 p.m. tonight.

“For a holiday concert, there’s so many different, mixed feelings about things,” he said. “We have so many different varieties of music that brings back joy and sadness in many different ways. The variety of history of the classical, traditional songs and the more upbeat type of songs that other people are singing tonight. It sends goosebumps down my back, just because I love this type of music and Christmas and being able to come together and be a family.”