House Song 2022

Last week saw the Chapel packed for an amazing House Song competition – congratulations to West Town, winners of the Partsong competition, and to Wiseman’s, who were victorious in the Unison!

The Partsong competition showcased some fine close-harmony singing, as well as some great entertainment (think wigs, crazy costumes, even falling leaves and snow!!)

All the performers were supported by a friendly and receptive audience – especially those who perhaps had a little less experience of singing in a group! As adjudicator Mr Alex Tester (Director of Music at St Edward’s School, Oxford) said, partsong singing is hard – but everyone did a great job. Even the staff put on a fun rendition of ‘Blame it on the Boogie’! But it was West Town’s soulful and very musical performance of a Pitch Pefect arrangement of George Michael’s Freedom ’90 that ultimately won the day.

The Unison competition was fiercely competitive as always, and Mr Tester commended The South Town for their house spirit and diction in Lay all your love on me (ABBA), Hallward’s House for their wonderful sense of ensemble in ‘I ain’t worried about it’ (One Repubic), and Moberly’s for their well-drilled performance of ‘The Greatest Show’ from the hit musical film The Greatest Showman. But the winners were Wiseman’s with their performance of Bruno Mars’ ‘Grenade’ – they were most impressively precise in their performance, with just the right amount of choreography to go with a real sense of development produced through their use of dynamic contrasts.

Almost as enjoyable as the songs themselves were the sing-along numbers inbetween the performances – overall, it was a really positive and enjoyable night for everyone involved.

Want to see for yourself? Catch up on YouTube here.