The build up to the annual House Music competition starts right from the first day of the beginning of term. Meticulous planning and countless rehearsals ensure that polished performances are always delivered to the delight of an enthusiastic audience. In a highly charged competition like this, everyone will have their favourites but it truly is an event where each student emerges a winner, congratulations to everyone!

This year’s musicians did not fail to impress as the adjudicator Mr Thomas Hewitt Jones was quick to highlight. As a previous winner of the BBC Young Composer of the Year and holder of a BBC Music Magazine ‘Premiere Album’ award plus lots of large-scale works and commercial commissions to his name, he ought to know.

The winners should take great pride in their success in such a high level competition. The Sally Cup for the best Ensemble went to McGill’s for the fantastic groove they brought to Herbie Hancock’s Chameleon. The wonderful female vocal group of Paull’s showed beautiful harmony in the Part-song, wining them the trophy. The solos were perhaps the most difficult to judge, but all brought something fantastic to the event. Congratulations to Bob He of McGill’s, whose great command of the piano playing Chopin’s Waltz in E Minor with lovely musical shape made him the winner. The inclusion of the 150 students in Martineau’s, whose uplifting rendition of Rhythm of Life from Sweet Charity, meant that every boy and girl in the senior school got to perform on stage. The final event of the evening was the Unison competition which was won by the boys in Leeman’s for their passion and awesome teamwork in a Quentin Tarantino Movie Medley. The best conductor cup went to Joon Han from McGill’s who “had the choir in the palm of his hand”.

It was another superb festival of music making at Aldenham.