House Music
The buzz in the Hodson Hall on the morning of House Music is always something to behold, watching pupils and staff make their way to their seats while decked out in outfits and colours of the four Houses; Hastings – green, Burton – yellow, Fearon – purple and Storer – Blue. Everyone was excited, knowing they were all in for a treat with so many talented musicians performing.
The Junior Solo section kicked off the competition and first up was Isobel from Storer performing ‘Sea Echo’ (Adams) on flute. This was followed by Hastings, with Grace playing ‘Concerto in A minor’ (Vivaldi) on violin. Fearon’s junior representative was Jennifer who played ‘Reverie’ (Debussy) on piano and finally for this section was Catherine for Burton, playing clarinet and her piece was ‘Hinsong’ (Harvey).
The Senior Solos began with the only vocalist in the solo sections, Imogen, from Fearon, singing ‘Love, I have won you’ (Ronald). This was followed by Burton with Izzy on flute playing ‘Hungarian Pastoral Fantasy’, moderato and allegro (Doppler). Storer’s Emma played ‘Fantasie’ (Fauré) on flute and the section finished with Hana from Hastings playing Debussy’s ‘Claire de Lune’ on piano.
The Part Song section was very entertaining with some fabulous harmonies. The Hastings group performed a ‘mash-up’ of ‘Found’/ ‘Tonight’ (Miranda, Pasek & Paul) followed by the Storer group performing Larson’s ‘Seasons of Love’ from Rent. Burton’s piece was ‘Some Nights’ (Bhasker, Ruess, Dost & Antonoff) and then we had Fearon bedecked in military attire who clapped and stomped in time with ‘Battlecry’ (Davies, Ellis & Mackampa).
After an extended break, in which 11LNM took the opportunity to hold a lovely cake sale outside, in aid of our whole school charity, we continued the competition.
The Acoustic Ensemble section started off with Fearon arriving on stage in dark glasses to play ‘Mission: Impossible’ by Schifrin and arranged by year 13 Hayley. Hastings performed the ambient ‘Theme from Jurassic Park’ (Williams with arrangement from Stephens after Schmidt, Beek & Nelson). Storer’s performance of ‘Hungarian Dance No.5’ by Brahms was played by sisters, Emma and Laura on Flute with Izzy on piano. The section concluded with Burton and their rendition of ‘Good Omens’ (Arnold).
The Amplified Ensemble brought some 21st century music, starting with Miley Cyrus and Mark Ronson’s, ‘Better Now’ performed by Storer. This was followed by Burton with ‘Love Song’ (Bareilles) and Fearon with Post Malone’s ‘Better Now’, arranged by year 13, Maddy. Hastings were the last group to go up for this section and performed the classic ‘Feeling Good’ (Newley & Bricusse).
The final section was the Unison Song which involves all pupils and staff from each House performing together on the stage – so a quarter of the school each time! All entries were well-known classic tunes; very lively, entertaining and colourful! Burton sang ‘Is this the way to Amarillo’ (Sedaka & Greenfield), followed by Fearon with ‘I Heard It Through the Grapevine’ (Whitfield & Strong). Next up was Hastings with the Shakin’ Stevens hit ‘Green Door’ (Davie & Moore) and concluding the section and competition with a very visual performance, was Storer singing the infamous ELO song, ‘Mr Blue Sky’ (Lynne).
While we waited for our guest Adjudicator, Joanna Korzinek, the Director of Music at Reigate Grammar School in Surrey, to finalise her decisions and the marks, our Deputy Head, Mr Thompson who conducted entertaining commentary and on the spot interviews throughout the competition, thanked all the people involved. Vast amounts of preparation, hard work and rehearsals go into preparing for the event which is very much led by the House Captains and the House Mistresses.
Then came the moment we had all been waiting for – the results! Joanna said it was wonderful to see so many pupils engaged in music and collaborating together. She gave very thorough feedback and excellent advice as she went through each section but her words of wisdom to all was on stage presence, she went on to say that no matter what the level of your performance is, always stand on stage and be smiling, show it in your eyes and face, as it is the best thing for your audience. She commented that the standard was very high and the marking was extremely close throughout, with very few marks separating all of them, making her job a tough one!
In Junior Solo, Isobel from Storer, was praised for being the opening act – which is never easy – and to perform unaccompanied, Joanna said her performance was fluid with a great sense of style. She went on to say that Grace from Hastings had some great moments, had an awareness of style and good technique. Jennifer from Fearon’s piano piece was described as lovely and beautifully played, while Burton’s Catherine captured the fun of the piece and was enjoyable to watch.
The marks for this section meant there were joint winners – Storer and Burton.
In Senior Solos, Joanna commented on Imogen’s (Fearon) powerful voice, and commended Izzy from Burton on the story telling of the piece and her technical accomplishment. Emma from Storer was praised for her sense of style and technical accuracy while Hana from Hastings gave a beautiful performance, following the ebb and flow of the piece effectively.
Again, it was very close, resulting in joint winners – Burton and Hastings.
Joanna particularly enjoyed the Part Song section as it had a real sense of working together and purpose. Hastings had secure harmonies and an effective ‘mash-up’ with lots of promise, the arrangement worked well. Storer’s piece gave an immediate sense of enjoyment from the outset and great skill was demonstrated. Burton had really nice moments with secure part singing and Fearon’s ‘Battlecry’ was good work, especially matching the clothes to the song!
The winners of this round were Storer.
In Acoustic Ensemble, Joanna congratulated Hayley from Fearon on creating the arrangement, she also loved the sunglasses and said the ‘Mission’ was achieved! The sensitive start of Hasting’s piece was commended, which set the mood of serenity, it was also noted that the musicians had a great awareness of one and other. It was noted that Storer’s entry was lively and well led by the flautist and overall showed great contrast. Burton’s piece gave a feeling of a carousel or waltz and was a great number.
Storer were the winners of this round.
Joanna very much appreciated the Amplified Ensemble section and commented on Storer’s good collaborative performance, with a sense of style and strong vocals. Of Burton she noted the way in which they engaged the audience and were very confident, especially the singer and drummer. Joanna was pleased to see such smiley faces in Fearon’s piece and commented that they were a lovely collaborative ensemble. Hastings looked slick and gave a great first impression, inspired confidence, were stylistic with good choreography and had loads of energy.
The winners of this section were Hastings.
Joanna was delighted to see so many staff getting involved in the final Unison Song round, she thought they were all entertaining performances. Particular mentions went to Hastings because they were the only group that displayed contrast in their piece and Storer, whose piece almost made her cry with laughter and was a fantastic final performance of the competition.
Hastings were the winner of this section.
As Joanna said at the beginning, the marks were incredibly close and everybody taking part should be commended for their excellent performances and contribution to this amazing annual event.
The final overall scores were:
4th place Fearon – 65 points
3rd place Burton – 75 points
2nd place Storer – 78 points
1st place Hastings – 79 points
Congratulations to Hastings, who are the winners for the second year running.
Huge thanks must go to the music department for their involvement and support for this competition, plus the technical support from Network Services. A very big thank you to Joanna Korzinek, whose musical prowess is extensive and we were honoured to have her as our adjudicator.
Joanna graduated with an honours degree in Music from the University of Southampton where she studied piano under David Owen Norris and Nicholas Walker. Upon being awarded a PGCE from the Institute of Education at the University of London, Joanna began her teaching career at Tiffin School where she directed choirs for performances at major London venues including the Royal Opera House, Barbican and Royal Albert Hall. She has since continued her career as Assistant Director of Music at Exeter School, Director of Music at St Paul’s School, São Paulo and Head of the Creative Arts Faculty at Dr Challoner’s High School in Buckinghamshire. She is now Director of Music at Reigate Grammar School in Surrey.
A pianist and violinist, alongside her classroom teaching Joanna is also an established freelance accompanist. She works regularly with a variety of instrumentalists, singers and choral societies in and around the South East and is violinist with London-based orchestras and the Guildford Symphony Orchestra.
Louise Shipman
