Writes Samuel Hill, Music Administrator
On the last day before half term, we held the final of this year’s Senior Music Competition, bringing together twelve finalists across six classes. This year, we were delighted to welcome as our adjudicator Alexander Hamilton OMT. Mr Hamilton has been Director of Music at HM Chapel Royal, Hampton Court Palace since 2025, and has previously held posts at St George’s Chapel, Windsor, Trinity College, Cambridge, and Westminster Abbey.
The evening opened with the keyboard round, begun by Ben Y. (L6th) giving a wonderfully lyrical rendition of Debussy’s ‘La Plus Que Lente’. Lucian H. (L6th) played next, performing Rachmaninoff’s stirring Prelude in G Minor with great drive and direction.
Thomas M. (5ths) played first in the percussion round, giving an assured performance of Jimi Hendrix’s ‘Fire’, before Arya G. (5ths) played Sting’s ‘Seven Days’ with drive and passion.
Thomas B. (5ths) opened the brass class with the first movement of Hummel’s enduringly popular Trumpet Concerto, which he played with a beautifully round tone. Trombonist Kabir B. (L6th) performed next, giving a deft performance of Guilmant’s ‘Morceau Symphonique’.
In the singing round we heard two musical theatre songs, firstly Markus F. (5ths) performing Jason Robert Brown’s ‘I Love Betsy’ from Honeymoon in Vegas with style and verve. This was followed by Ossie K.’s (5ths) captivating rendition of Anaïs Mitchell’s ‘If It’s True’ from Hadestown.
Ben C. (U6th) opened the woodwind class with his elegant performance of the first movement of Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto, before flautist Kieran K. (U6th) gave a poised performance of Enescu’s dazzling ‘Cantabile et Presto’.
The final round of the competition was the string class, which started with Kian C.’s (U6th) impressive performance of ‘Nigun for Violin’ by Ernest Bloch. Cellist Rafi A. (L6th) concluded the evening with a passionate performance of the first movement from Haydn’s Cello Concerto No.1.
After the interval, Mr. Hamilton spoke warmly about each and every one of the performances and we’re sure his words of encouragement will be of great benefit to the pupils as they continue their studies in the future.
After some deliberation, it was announced that the winners of this year’s Senior Music Competition were as follows:
Keyboard: Ben Y. (L6th)
Percussion: Thomas M. (5ths)
Brass: Kabir B. (L6th)
Singing: Ossie K. (5ths)
Woodwind: Kieran K. (U6th)
String: Kian C. (U6th)
Overall Winner of the Reynolds Cup: Kian C. (U6th)
