Last night’s Inter-House Choral Competition, one of the longest-standing events in the College calendar, lived up to the pre-event excitement. With singing in every corner of the College in the weeks leading up the event, anticipation was high. Pupils performed to a packed audience of parents, staff and friends of the College – who were duly entertained as they saw the 13 Houses present a unison song, an unaccompanied part-song and a soloist.
The Choral Competition is the first marquee event in Epsom’s calendar, uniting Houses and bringing together the wider College community for an evening of song and laughter.
Pupils and House staff chose and arranged their own songs, rehearsed hard, and conducted the evening’s performances wearing house ties, coloured ribbons and buttonholes, plus an array of entertaining props.
Mr Paul Johnson-Hyde, Director of Music, commented that it is his “favourite event in the College calendar” and that he believes it to be a “testament to the strong bonds that are formed in the House system,” drawing particular attention to the large numbers of pupils who accompanied their Houses.
The Adjudicator was Mr James Manwaring who is Director of Music for the Windsor Learning Partnership. He has been twice nominated for the Musicians’ Union Inspiration Award and his department has been four times nominated for ‘Best UK Music Department’.
Mr Manwaring was particularly impressed with the soloists’ ability to engage with the audience and tell a story through their singing, and this was particularly evident in Ben Abbott’s (C) winning performance of Empty Chairs at Empty Tables from Les Misérables. He also commented on the high standard of the part-songs, many of which included complex harmonies and body percussion. This category was won by White House.
The Unison Trophy was won by Forest with a polished performance of a High School Musical medley which Mr Manwaring said offered “light and shade” and “real clarity”.
The full list of winners is as follows:
Solo – The Trott Cup.
1st – Ben Abbot (C), Empty Chairs at Empty Tables from Les Misérables, Schönberg
2nd – Jasmine Bingham (M), Defying Gravity from Wicked, Schwartz
3rd – Harry Milne (P), Soliloquy from Carousel, Rodgers
4th – Nara Aligulova (Cr), Listen, Beyoncé
5th – Ellie Jackson (Rv), Feelin’ Good, Newley and Bricusse
Part Song – The Carson Cup.
1st – White, Radioactive, Imagine Dragons and Human, Rag ‘n’ Bone Man
2nd – Forest, medley of Heartless, Kanye West, Ready or Not, The Fugees, and Human, Rag ‘n’ Bone Man arr. Forest
3rd – Murrell, We are Young, Fun
4th – Carr, Call Me Maybe, Carly Rae Jepsen arr. Rex
5th – Wilson, Women of Music, arr. Upot
Unison – The Murray Young Cup.
1st – Forest, medley from High School Musical, Lawrence
2nd – Raven, Zero to Hero from Hercules, Menken
3rd – Carr, Love Story, Taylor Swift
4th – Murrell, Mama I’m a Big Girl Now from Hairspray, Shaiman
5th – White, Valerie, The Zutons, arr. Ronson
The Choral Competition Trophy (overall winners).
1st – Forest
2nd – Carr
3rd – Murrell
4th – White
5th – Raven
