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Writes Samuel Hill, Music Administrator

Last Friday, the Final of the 2026 Senior Music Competition took place in the Recital Hall, bringing together the top sixteen performances drawn from over fifty entrants in the Fourth Form and the Divisions.

We were delighted to welcome Mr Simon Kirk (Director of Music at St John’s College School, Cambridge) as our adjudicator for the evening, who spoke encouragingly of the individual performers and of how they reflected the supportive, collegiate atmosphere of music at ³Ô¹ÏÏÖ³¡’ School.

The evening opened with the keyboard class, comprising two pianists and an organist. Pianist Steven K. (Divs) began proceedings with Liszt’s Sonetto 104 del Petrarca. Steven’s compelling performance included beautiful, singing legato lines alongside well-managed virtuosic passages. Ethan G. (Divs) played next, giving an enjoyable rendition of Alain’s Litanies on the organ. The registration was well-managed, and the mood of the improvisatory sections was captured well. Concluding the keyboard class, Kaihan T. (4ths) gave a dazzling performance of Chopin’s Winter Wind Etude that impressed not only in its virtuosity, but also in its stillness and calm during the opening passages.

The percussion round featured two drummers, the first of whom, Krish A. (4ths) played No One Knows by Queens of the Stone Age, giving an excellent performance with a variety of complex fills. Arya G. (Divs) performed next, confidently playing Toxicity’s System of a Down.

Alexander B.-T. (4ths) began the brass class, playing an arrangement of Bizet’s Chanson du Toreador on the baritone horn. His clear and expressive sound impressed the adjudicator. Trombonist Ossie K. (Divs) was the second brass player to compete in Friday’s final, performing the second movement of Ferdinand David’s Concertino with a lovely singing quality.

Of the three singers, two performed songs from Schoenberg’s Les Miserables, the first being Markus F. (Divs), whose captivating performance displayed evident emotion and characterisation. Next, Ashwin M. (4ths) sang the charming song Je vole by Louane; the song suited his voice well and his performance clearly demonstrated his grasp of the French language and his excellent intonation. Archit R. (Divs) concluded the class with I Dreamed a Dream, also from Les Miserables, where his diction and storytelling were particularly in evidence.

Two saxophonists competed in the woodwind class, firstly Xavi G. (4ths), whose performance of the catchy Saxsequential by Paul Harris displayed his clear understanding of jazz style. After this, Ethan D. (4ths) played the lyrical Aria by Bozza, with much well-judged rubato and emotion.

Zach G. (4ths) opened the guitar class with his thoughtful performance of Giuliani’s La Melonconia. This was followed by Adam H.’s (4ths) endearing performance of Tarrega’s Pavana, with wonderful characterisation of both melody and accompaniment.

Concluding the evening we turned to the strings class, opened by Sebastian F. (Divs), whose powerful performance of Kreisler’s Praeludium and Allegro on the violin was confident and expressive throughout. The final performance of the evening was by cellist Kaihan T. (4ths), who gave an authoritative and impressive rendition of Cassados’ Requiebros, displaying a mature musicality.

The winners of the classes were:

• Keyboard: Steven K. (Divs)
• Percussion: Arya G. (Divs)
• Brass: Ossie K. (Divs)
• Voice: Markus F. (Divs)
• Woodwind: Ethan D. (4ths)
• Guitar: Adam H. (4ths)
• Strings: Kaihan T. (4ths)

Two boys, Kaihan T. (Keyboard) and Archit R. (Voice), were highly commended, and the overall winner of the 2026 Intermediate Music Competition was Steven K. (Keyboard).