School Hall has been the scene of many brilliant concerts, assemblies and society talks over the years. Be that as it may, perhaps the only event there that captures the whole School’s attention (even if that’s because it is mandatory) is House Shout!
The fiercely anticipated unison choir contest is held annually and each of the 25 houses compete to win one of two coveted trophies. The 2024 event took place on Friday 18 October. As the start time of 8:15pm approached, the atmosphere was welcoming, the stage was set, and the adjudicator was ready to give his notes. As the first batch of boys filed in, you could tell those attending in School Hall and watching on the live-feed at home were in for a good night.
As the evening progressed and those boys who had performed transferred from the audience to watch their peers, they – along with Eton staff and their families at home – were treated to a brilliant collection of performances. One by one, each House took the stage, under the guidance of a senior boy as conductor. The range was wide—some took on classic anthems with gusto, while others selected modern hits that brought a touch of contemporary flair to the storied setting of School Hall. Some houses opted for fidelity to the original with backing tracks, others showed off their musical prowess with live accompaniment, also from boys. We heard everything from the theme to the classic Western show Rawhide (Hopgarden) to Madonna’s pop standard Like a Prayer (Farrer), and not one but two renditions of Take That’s Shine.
A few houses made ample use of a warm crowd – an honourable mention goes to Jourdelay’s for performing Natasha Bedingfield’s Unwritten, who got the whole audience clapping. Some houses went all out with elaborate vocal arrangements and harmonies, while others focused on raw power and unison to deliver a performance packed with energy and spirit. This choice had to be made shrewdly to better the chances of winning one of the all-important two cups: the Rackley Cup for harmony and the Precentor’s Cup for unison singing.
After Seal’s smash hit Kiss from a Rose closed the performances, Richard Mayo, former Director of Music at Dulwich College faced the unenviable task of selecting the winners as adjudicator. Each house’s choir brought something fresh, and the talent on display was remarkable. It was obvious that hours of practice and many long House assemblies had gone into each performance, and everyone was eager to see which two houses would walk away trophies in hand.
With the commendations out of the way, applause and shouts greeted the announcement of College for Somewhere Only We Know and Cotton Hall for I Say a Little Prayer as winners. Congratulations to them, and many thanks must go to Mr Mayo, the House conductors who together pulled off mustering over 1,300 boys onto the stage and to Mr Yeo for his final time organising the event. School Hall is somewhat quieter now, but only until next year.
