After weeks of preparation, last minute changes and simultaneously rehearsing and eating lunch (often to the detriment of both activities) the 50th Anniversary of the Mair Cup took place on Sunday 19 March. To mark the occasion five Old Wymondhamians, one from each of the last five decades, had been invited back to the College to make up the judging panel.
New Hall’s large choir kicked the evening off with a medley of hits by Queen followed by a haunting rendition of ‘Mad World’ by Cavell’s small choir. Kett was the first of the instrumental ensembles with a lively performance of Cantina Number 1. The next small choir was from Fry with their offering of ‘Down to the River to Pray’, ably accompanied by Katie Schutte on violin. Peel’s large choir took on recent chart topper ‘Human’ by Rag’n’Bone Man while New Hall’s Instrumental ensemble and, in particular, Acer Smith’s drumming kept us entertained with their performance of ‘Oleo’ and ‘The Chicken’.While other houses chose to have a small choir represent the small ensemble category, Kett opted for a band and lead singer for their rendition of ‘Treasure’ by Bruno Mars, with Charlie Moore at the helm.Peel charmed us next with their medley of songs from the Oscar-nominated La La Land, arranged by Lily Potter for their instrumental ensemble which was followed by the large choir from Cavell and their energetic take on ‘Valerie’ by the Zutons. New Hall’s final performance of the night was Coldplay’s ‘Viva la Vida’ which had been arranged for their small choir. Fry’s instrumental ensemble kept our attention with its inventive medley of TV and film soundtracks while Kett’s large choir transported us to the Land of Far Far Away with their performance of Smashmouth’s ‘All Star’ from the film Shrek.
Although the standard up until this point in the evening had been extremely high, it was the last three performances of the night that the judges thought were the deserved winners of each category. Peel’s small choir took us back to the girl groups of the 60s with their arrangement of ‘Please Mr Postman’ by The Marvellettes which claimed the Small Choir prize while Cavell’s mesmerising and relaxing performance of Led Zeppelin’s ’Stairway to Heaven’ almost made us forget we were listening to a group of high school students, awarding them with the Instrumental Ensemble prize. However it was Fry’s large choir that set them above the rest with their performance of Karl Jenkin’s ‘Adiemus’, a challenging piece for any choir but Fry tackled it with ease and confidence.
After a short interlude where we were treated to a selection of hits by the Jazz Bands, the judges returned with their decisions and commendations were given to Marland Barsby, Ben Chirodian and Charlotte van Gurp from Cavell, Acer Smith and Matt Thompson from New Hall, Lily Potter and Martha Stocks from Peel, Vicki Ellis and Josh Gulacar from Kett and Felix Jordan and Katie Schutte from Fry. Katie was also awarded the Tom Richardson Memorial Quaich and it was then announced that the winner of the Mair cup was Fry!
The Mair Cup is completely student led so a big thank you and well done to all those who gave their time to lead, rehearse and arrange music in preparation for this event which has become a highlight of the school year.
