Big House Choir: A Wonderful End To 2024

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6yGVj8s7uWYOrsZGniMwW1Tnh0NSeFva (YouTube playlist!)

To conclude the academic year for everyone, especially juniors, Macleans holds its annual Big House Choir competition. The Big House Choir is a competition where all junior students perform a song in their respective houses in an attempt to win a house shield through team efforts. With this year’s theme being based around ‘Movie Magic’, each house had to choose a beloved song from a famous movie. The Year 11 students led the practices and rehearsals, leading the juniors to put on a big performance to finish off the year.

The first house to perform was Kupe, they performed Elton John’s classic song “I’m Still Standing”. With the departure of their beloved long-serving house leader, Mr Farr, Kupe House put in a monumental effort to show off their yellow pride and volume. The song’s themes about resilience, self-confidence, and overcoming adversity shone through their energetic voices.

After Kupe’s bright performance, Te Kanawa stepped onto the stage singing “Unwritten” by Natasha Bedingfield. The crowd was mesmerised by their brightly painted dark blue hands and the impressive gymnastics from jumping all around in the air. Te Kanawa’s Unwritten had a message that resonated with most students: having the pen in your hand and taking control of your own life.

Big House Choir often brings classics onto the stage, and Batten did just that with their rendition of “Happy” by Pharrell Williams from “Despicable Me 2″. Students dressed up in their buzzy bee colours, from a range of vibrant oranges and yellows to their staple platinum grey. The movement of a student dressed up as Gru shouting the famous line, “Minions! Tonight, we steal the moon!” truly brightened up the entire gym.

“It’s that time of the year, everyone’s tired and we all want to go home, the last thing we experience from the school year is singing and whatnot. However so, the thrill of your house (not) winning an award is exhilarating nonetheless.”
– Kyan Zhang Year 10

Rutherford House came onto the stage next with students wearing a variety of cultural clothing, representative of the song they performed, “This Is Me” by Keala Settle which talks about embracing your own identity and being proud of who you are. Students in pink elephant costumes paraded the stage, fully showcasing their Rutherford pride.

“It was definitely an experience to remember,. Although the house had started on a low, I thought we pushed through well and did our best in the end, showing our house pride and pushing through difficulties.”
– Stephanie Lin – Year 10

In light of the summer holidays approaching, Mansfield House had an explosive entrance onto the stage with a song from High School Musical 2 –“Summertime”. The loud and lively singing symbolised the entire cohort’s feeling of wanting to go off on holiday, especially after a year of hard work. Mansfield’s performance also included dynamic signs that added great background scenery.

Following Mansfield’s performance was Upham House. In adherence to the theme of “Movie Magic”, Upham performed “Accidentally In Love” from Shrek 2. The joyous and comedic theme of the song lit up the gym, with four students running in front dressed up as Shrek characters. The waving and laughter from the crowd made Upham’s performance incredibly wholesome for everyone to watch.

The song, “CAN’T STOP THE FEELING!” by Justin Timberlake was performed by Hilliary House shortly after which carried a spirited and bright tone as students danced around with each other in their brightly coloured costumes that signified them as the “Green Machine.” Of course, they had their iconic Yeti mascot run around and dance with the students.

Last but not least, the infamous Snell House came onto the stage. They performed “Price Tag” by Jessie J ft. B.o.B. The house dynamically moved with each other in accordance with the lyrics, performing to the crowd with their actions and choreography. Big signs of Mr Askin’s silly selfies were on display, along with fake money being thrown everywhere.