It may have been pouring with rain and dark outside, but the brightly coloured lights and the noisy throng of boys wearing their House t-shirts, their banners adorning the walls of the Great Hall, could only mean one thing – it was time for House Singing 2023.
A hush settled as last year’s Unison Song winners, St Peter’s (Talbot’s) took to the stage, beginning with a beautifully serene version of Celine Dion’s My Heart Will Go On. They set the standard for things to come, with each boarding house in turn treating the audience of day boys, parents and staff to a programme of two songs each. From Michael Jackson to Hozier, Take That to the Village People, no musical stone was left unturned. The last to perform in the Unison Song category were Crescent (Pemberley), and they did not disappoint – choosing a song from the recent Barbie film called I’m Just Ken, followed by YMCA.
If you have ever sung in a choir, you will know the importance the conductor puts on standing and sitting in a tidy manner. House Singing takes that even further, and in the first round – the Unison Song – the stands and sits have become an integral part of each performance – and there were some seriously slick versions on display! From the jumping up at a single clap to the three-row rise and fall – even a domino effect, one by one – each interpretation seemed to upstage the previous!
The second round brought the Part Songs, and we were treated to classics such as All My Loving by The Beatles sung by Crescent (Pemberley), as well as Ben E King’s Stand By Me from St Peter’s (Talbot’s), through to the almost present day Somebody that I Used to Know by Gotye, wonderfully sung by Bromham (Burnaby).
This year’s guest adjudicator was Quentin Thomas, Director of Music at Oundle, who last judged the competition 12 years ago. While he was deliberating, Director of Music Joss Sanders also commended the boys for their tremendous efforts and for coming out of their comfort zones to take to the stage. It was then the turn of some members of staff to step out of their own comfort zones and onto the stage to entertain the boys with a version of ‘Dynamite’ by BTS, a performance that received huge applause from boys and guests alike.
In his speech, Mr Thomas praised the commitment of all of the boys from the boarding houses in the Unison Song round, who had clearly worked so hard on their performances, calling them “a triumph”. He advised them to “remember the journey” and be proud of what they had achieved in only seven weeks since the beginning of term! Ultimately, it was Paulo Pontine and the boys of Redburn’s emotionally charged rendition of Read All About It by Emeli Sandé, as well as a brilliantly executed version of Coldplay’s Viva La Vida, that won them the number one spot for Unison Song.
Mr Thomas then announced the winners of the Part Song round – this fell to Ashburnham (Sanderson’s) for their “snazzy” and “rhythmically brilliant” arrangement of Sh-boom by The Chords.
After some frenzied behind-the-scenes counting of total scores, the overall winners were announced – Ashburnham (Sanderson’s) took the top spot for the third year running.
Unison Song – Paulo Pontine (Redburn)
Part Song – Ashburnham (Sanderson’s)
Overall Winners – Ashburnham (Sanderson’s)
