On Thursday 22 February, our annual House Music Competition took place. This was a day of celebration with all pupils in the Senior School coming together to sing for their Houses.
The competition started in the afternoon with the Lower and Middle School Solo performances. The Lower School soloists were George Ayling (clarinet), Charley Kirby (voice), Phoenix Plowman-Blake (piano) and Andrew Mai (piano). The four pupils produced outstanding performances. The winner was Charley (Holmes House) with a beautiful rendition of ‘I am not that girl’ (Schwarz).
In the Middle School, the audience enjoyed the performances of Benjamin Eden (voice), Natasha Richardson (voice/guitar), Lara-Grace Mount (voice) and Beatrice Winder (piano). All four again displayed incredible musical talent. The winner was Natasha (Holmes House) who played and sang ‘Songwriter’s dream’, a very beautiful song which she wrote herself.
Heading into the second part of the competition things Holmes were in the lead. The evening event started at 1830. The Russell Hall was ‘sold out’ with many parents, teachers and pupils and retired teachers (amongst them Mrs Noxon and Mr Forrest)
The event started with the winning performances in the Lower and Middle School. Charley and Natasha performed their songs once again for everone’s enjoyment.
Then the Upper School Solo performances commenced; the soloists were Matilda Suiter (voice), James Horsburgh (saxophone), Abigail McGlone (flute) and Charlotte White (voice). The winner in this category was Abigail (Peckover) with her flute, performing a striking and challenging study (Koehler).
Next, the audience were treated to the House Ensemble Competition, a section where ‘pop/rock bands’ formed by our pupils started to add more volume to the evening. It was great to see pupils of different ages making music together. The standard of all four Houses was very high and this was going to be a very difficult decision for the adjudicators. They considered at length and decided that the best performance was the one by Holmes, who performed a song called ‘My type’ (Saint Motel).
Finally, we reached the last act of the competition, the House Song. This year the theme was ‘movie songs’. It was great to see pupils on stage directed by their Music Captains. Everybody sang loudly for their House. This year it was agreed that pupils would not be required to wear school uniform; instead they all wore casual clothes but incorporated representation of their House colour. This created a unique atmosphere in the Russell Hall that had not been experienced in previous competitions. The winners were Clarkson with ‘How far I’ll go’ from the film ‘Moana’.
Before the overall winner was announced, we had the ‘Most Promising Musician’ award which went to Beatrice Winder (Sparks).
Mr McConnell-Wood then came on stage to thank parents and pupils and, without an introduction, started singing ‘Always look on the bright side of life’ He was quickly joined by Mr Duncan and other teachers followed them on stage.
This ‘wonderful’ performance made the Russell Hall go crazy. It was the final touch to an unforgettable evening.
Calmness restored, it was time to find out the overall winners of the competition. The four Houses were close in terms of points. Holmes was announced as the winner of the House Music Competition 2018.
This was a memorable event. Our pupils made us proud again working together enthusiastically as they showed us their incredible musical talents. Departing guests left with big smiles and pleasant comments.
A big thank you is owed to the adjudicators on the evening, Mrs Claire Harding, Mr James Crackle and Mr Ivan Garford; all three are accomplished musicians with years of experience. Their feedback to our pupils after their performances was fantastic and very positive.
Thank you also to the Heads of Houses, Ms Goodier, Mr Harrison, Mr Garfoot and Mr Rodriguez and Deputy Head-Operations, Mr Logan, for their help with the organisation of this event. Much appreciated was the work of the estates and marketing teams as well as the catering staff who provided pupils and staff with a great dinner before the event.
And last but not least, thank you very much to Mrs Missin for putting the final show together and presenting it in such a lovely way, and, of course, Mrs Duncan for making the technical matters run perfectly.