Shrewsbury
'Power of singing' celebrated at House Singing 2024
Fresh from the rigours of the Tucks at Attingham Park, the entire school gathered as usual on the last evening before Exeat to celebrate the extraordinary unifying power of singing in the annual House Singing Competition.
The part songs offered by each house were more diverse than ever this year, ranging from the Latvian composer Eriks Esenvalds’ magical setting of O Salutaris Hostia to a fabulous arrangement of The Hanging Tree (from The Hunger Games) skillfully arranged for Emma Darwin Hall by Upper Sixth Former Marina K, who deservedly won the prize for an original arrangement.
Both in vocal delivery and thoughtful and entertaining presentation, the unison songs were a testament to the strong house spirit at Shrewsbury, and the judges commented on this, particularly in the winning performance of Waterloo by Queen Elizabeth Hall, the first house to perform. The winning part song was the last of the evening, a polished and entertaining performance of Happy Together by The Turtles confidently led by Oliver C (R, UVI).
Since the inauguration of the accompaniment being provided by totally ‘in-house” bands three years ago, the standard of the bands has risen across the board, and there were also some notable virtuoso individual performances within the bands.
This year we were delighted to welcome the following judges to adjudicate:
Quintin Beer - a choral director, prize-winning conductor and well established as a versatile musician. He is currently Director of Music at St Peter's College, Oxford where he runs the College Choir and oversees all music-making activity in the College.
William Goldsmith is the new Head of Packwood having been Head of St George’s School Windsor Castle, a Choir School, for six years. Previous roles have included Head of St Leonards Junior School, Head of Boarding at Highfield and Director of Music at St Paul’s Cathedral School and Ludgrove.
Claire Venables has worked in music education, as a Music Teacher and Head of Music, for 17 years, where she taught Music and Music Technology to GCSE and A Level. She is now Head of Performing Arts and Music at Terra Nova School in Cheshire.
The depth of contemporary vocal performance at Shrewsbury was also very evident in the range of solo items performed by Upper Sixth students during the adjudication interval. These ranged from stunning performances of Frank Sinatra and Whitney Houston classics to an evocative and heartfelt original song, Old Soul, by singer-songwriter Lilith P (QEH, UVI).
Kathryn Turpin
Head of Singing
House Singing results 2024
Part Song – Rigg's Hall
Unison – Queen Elizabeth Hall
Overall – Emma Darwin Hall
Most Entertaining – Ingram's Hall
Most Improved – Ridgemount
Best Arrangement – Marina K (EDH) The Hanging Tree
Musical Leadership – Isabella H & Olivia K - Moser's
Band – Ingram's Hall
A full gallery of images from the night can be found below.
