Summer Concert shines a light on talented musicians
With the sunshine providing perfect lighting, our musicians glowed on stage at the 2026 Summer Concert.
The Dining Hall was transformed into a vibrant concert space as pupils, families, and staff gathered to celebrate the breadth of musical talent across the Senior School.
Each ensemble brought their own colour and character to the programme, starting off with Second Orchestra.
The opening act set an elegant and confident tone. Their performance of ‘St Anthony Chorale’ by Johannes Brahms and Joseph Haydn was rich and poised, followed by the graceful ‘Sarabande’ from Edvard Grieg’s ‘Holberg Suite’. They ended their set with a lively and rousing ‘Radetzky March’ by Johann Strauss Snr.
Next to take the stage was Shirts Untucked, whose relaxed style and polished sound delighted the audience. Their smooth rendition of Olivia Dean’s So Easy (To Fall in Love) was followed by a crowd-pleasing performance of the Bjork hit ‘It’s Oh So Quiet’ by Hans Lang and Bert Reisfeld.
The energy continued to build with Big Band, who brought a touch of classic swing to the evening. ‘Ain’t She Sweet’ by Milton Ager set toes tapping, while ‘A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square’ by Vera Lynn added a nostalgic warmth. Their final piece, Irving Berlin’s ‘Blue Skies’, featured a standout solo from Amelie Manson, which was met with enthusiastic applause.
After a short interval, Concert Band welcomed the audience back to their seats with a powerful and uplifting set. Michael Brown’s arrangement of ‘Don’t Stop Believin’’ by Journey filled the hall with energy and optimism. This was followed by the moving ‘You Raise Me Up’ by Brendan Graham and Rolf Løvland, arranged by Eric Osterling, before concluding with a John Higgins arrangement of ‘Disney Blockbusters’.
The penultimate ensemble, S Club Diminished Seventh, kicked off with a soulful performance of ‘Hallelujah, I Love Him So’ by Ray Charles, and Joni Mitchell’s well-known hit ‘Big Yellow Taxi’ was performed with confidence and style.
Bringing the concert to a memorable close was VOX, whose vocal harmonies filled the Dining Hall. They began with a classic from Keane, ‘Somewhere Only We Know’, before launching into Benson Boone’s ‘In the Stars’. A tender performance of ‘A Thousand Years’ by Christina Perri and David Hodges captivated the audience before the evening ended on a high with the iconic ‘Never Ending Story’ by Giorgio Moroder.
