Paly choir members decked out in Tudor attire delighted audiences with a holiday concert in the first of three fundraisers beginning at 4 p.m. on Friday evening at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Palo Alto.

Choir members performed 20 choral selections interspersed with witty dialogue detailing the coronation preparations of King Henry VIII, portrayed by sophomore Elias Berezin.

Beginning Choir, Concert Choir, Spectrum Singers and Madrigals performed individually throughout the event. Musical selections were diverse, including pieces in French, German and Spanish.

The ensemble also covered traditional favorites. The Concert Choir gave a rich rendition of “Winter Wonderland,” and at the end of the evening, the whole choir joined together to sing the rollicking gospel tune “Rock My Soul.”

“We really began rehearsing the performance aspect in the past couple of weeks,” senior Madrigal Jordan Brown said. “But we’ve been learning the music for much longer.”

In a new aspect of the gala fundraiser, Choir Director Michael Najar played auctioneer in the sale of two Tudor-style hats.

As a spontaneous gesture, Najar invited two little girls in Renaissance costume from the audience to display the women’s headpiece during the bidding, prompting whispers of, “That’s so cute!” from the audience.

Junior Michileen Oberst, who contributed to the design of the headpieces, said she was blown away by the auction’s success.

“We thought the hats would go for about $30,” the starting price offered by Najar for the gold velvet men’s hat, Oberst said. “It was a huge shock that they sold for such high prices,” the hat for $125 and the pale gold women’s French hood for $160.

All three of the Madrigal events were sold out by Wednesday, according to the Paly Link.

Paly Choir will host Madrigal dinners on Saturday, Dec. 12, and Sunday, Dec. 13, at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church at 600 Colorado Avenue, Palo Alto. Doors open at 5:45 p.m.