Singing Competition
We were delighted to welcome British baritone, international prizewinner and operatic star Garry Magee as adjudicator for this year’s Singing Competition. He brought a charmingly balanced and engagingly frank style to his commentary, offering brilliantly pithy hints and advice to our many singers alongside great praise and enthusiasm for what they are already achieving. The Thursday evening romp through the best of Show music (Mary Popping, Oz, The King and I, Les Mis, Cats, Chitty, Lady, Annie, Evita, Wicked, West Side…. and on and on!) highlighted both entertainment and musicianship, with familiarity allowing the audience almost (but not quite) to sing along. Thereafter, Friday concentrated on a far wider repertoire across all ages, genres and moods. But for Mr Magee it was still vital to ‘tell the story’ – singing is a primal activity, and one only does it if one has a message to deliver…. otherwise why bother? His is a very well made point, and with performers visibly relaxing under his benign gaze, many wonderful stories were told. And he couldn’t have put it better at the end: “I’ve had a blast and been very impressed with you all – well done!”
Bravo to all the singers, and in particular the following category winners:
Songs from the shows: Junior: jointly Nathaniel Gunn and Lauren Wilkes; Senior: Lucy-Eve Wright. Treble Solo: Freddie Simpson. Junior girls’ solo: Ella Reynard. Intermediate solo: Nathaniel Gunn. Lieder class: Gabriella Zins. European song: Madelaine Felton. Junior Duet: Nina Varadarajan and Ella Walker. Senior ensemble: Martha Carey, Poppy Fletcher, Bethany Wakefield and Miranda Woods Ballard. English song: jointly Owen Butcher and Gabriella Harvey. Opera and Oratorio: Gabriella Harvey.
The overall champion and recipient of the Singing Cup was Gabriella Harvey.
