Head's Newsletter 4 March 2016

After this excitement was over most of the Unison younger boys left, having been corralled in the JLT until their performance time on the stage. After the interval the audience was treated to 8 treble solos with Joe Manley emerging as the winner with his animated rendition of the Venezuelan song Valencianita. Special commendations went to Daniel Blaze, Ben Knight and Duncan Tarboton although the adjudicator was very impressed with the courage and determination of all the younger boys.

The annual House Singing competition took place on 25th January in the Main Hall with guest adjudicator, Hilary Davan Wetton, Musical Director of several amateur choirs and Conductor Emeritus of the Milton Keynes City Orchestra. This event (always a Tiffin music highlight) is organised entirely by the older boys and involves just 3 weeks of frantic rehearsing in any available space in the Music Department. After coming through the heats Drake won the coveted Unison Song trophy with the Duke Ellington classic It don’t mean a thing (if it ain’t got that swing) , ably conducted by Rob Singleton, who also scooped the award for the best conductor (pictured below).

Next were the Alto, Tenor and Bass solos with counter tenor, Daniel Henderson, proving to be a popular

Joe Manley

winner, singing Purcell’s Come All Ye Songsters , with Rory McKeon and Kit Davey highly commended.

Finally, the Part Song prize was awarded to Raleigh with California Dreamin’ . Kingsley Montgomery emerged

as overall winners, due to their consistent performance across all the categories during the evening. They were followed by Churchill-Gordon and then Drake. Thanks must go to Hilary Davan Wetton for his constructive feedback and warm encouragement and to Matthew O’Malley for accompanying the performers so beautifully all evening.