At the weekend Pears School staged one of the most eagerly awaited events of the year – The House Unison and House Harmony competitions.
Every single member of the house has to sing in the Unison, whatever their vocal talent...
This is always a hotly contested event, and this year, yet again, the singing was of an excellent standard. For the first time in a few years a boys house won the Unison cup. This result was anything but contentious; you could hear a pin drop the moment the piano accompaniment began - played, most sensitively, by New House pupil Jeffrey Mann. The boys sang the Robbie Williams classic You know me.
Their singing was beautiful. Sensitive and powerful. The adjudicator, Mr James Burton admitted that he had never heard a boys house sing half as well before. This is some achievement, as he spends his life conducting youth choirs, and has adjudicated countless competitions like this across the UK and further afield. Their choreography also was appropriate and considered. Every element of the performance had been carefully crafted to maximum effect. The competition was strong, with all houses putting out a well rehearsed and impressive performance. The Abbey won the girls highly commended cup, with Jump, and Orchard the boys, with Forget you. Congratulations to all!
The Harmony competition the following evening was also a close competition, with several houses in with a chance of taking the prize. The boys from Latham House won, benefitting from Thomas Hume’s arrangement of Under the Bridge, by The Red Hot Chilli Peppers. It was brilliantly performed, featuring Sebastiaan Howle as the main soloist, ably supported by a rhythmically tight backing group of friends. Field House and New House claimed the highly commended cups, with well blended and cleverly crafted performances. It was a brilliant weekend.
Posted on
Tue, February 8, 2011
by John Bowley