House Music 2026: Licence to Trill

Our Head of Music, Mr O’Leary, looks back on the much-anticipated House Music 2026 – a true highlight of our Performing Arts calendar – and pays tribute to everyone who pulled this musical extravaganza together in just 10 working days:

House Music 2026: Licence to Trill

On Friday 18th September, the Courage Hall opened its doors to parents, pupils, staff, and supporters for the first major event of the new academic year – House Music 2026. This was a night simultaneously unlike any other at Brentwood while also representing the energy and breadth of our Performing Arts offering in miniature, seeing the whole school community brought together in song (and often dance!) in music written, arranged, rehearsed, directed, and conducted in its entirety by our students. Led by an incredibly talented group of House Music Captains, students from all of our Houses spent just 10 working days learning their Unison, Ensemble, and Partsong repertoire, each vying for the top spot across the categories and the opportunity of taking home the coveted House Music Trophy for 2026.

However, prior to any Grammy-worthy performances, we first took a trip to the Oscars with the grand unveiling of this year’s Spoof Video – House Music 2026: Licence to Trill. Terrible puns, questionable outfits, and a plot closer to Austin Powers than any Bond film, this yet-unaccepted Sundance submission saw students and staff faced with the threat of a House Music-less world that could only be overcome through the power of music. Many thanks to all those who participated in what critics are already calling the ‘Best pre-music competition Bond-themed parody of 2026’, and a particular thanks to Mx Emmens-Green for their phenomenal editing – no mean feat considering they had never seen a Bond film before!

Prior to pupils taking the stage, the audience were introduced to the man they needed to impress in order to have a chance at claiming victory – Mr Nicholas Chalmers. As one of the UK’s preeminent conductors and leaders in music education, it was no surprise that Nic brought significant expertise to his adjudication and remarks throughout the night, highlighting the joy and power of music-making on display throughout the performances. We are truly grateful to him for his time and his considered, insightful feedback for our pupils, and hope that many of them have the opportunity to work with him in the future through his various directorships of the National Youth Choir, Royal Academy of Music’s Conducting programmes, and the Royal Opera House.

This year’s Partsong category saw record numbers in terms of the amount of singers who took to the stage – a glorious sight and one which bodes extremely well for our choral ensembles this year! The task before them was a creative response to Labi Siffre’s iconic ‘Bless the Telephone’ for SATB choir, and the audience were not disappointed by the multitudinous ways in which our students made the music their own, from beautiful solos and duets to reharmonisation and even the addition of new material. Once all was sung and done, however, it was East and Hampden’s sensitive rendition under the direction of Osi that took the top spot on the leaderboard – something of a prophetic result to the start of the night’s proceedings…

The Ensemble category once again demonstrated the breadth and versatility of our pupil instrumentalists, tackling bespoke arrangements of Rock, Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, ELO, and blockbuster action soundtracks with great aplomb. Such musicality and skilled collaboration was made possible only through the incredible efforts of those students who put countless hours into writing (and rewriting) each medley, many of whom also took centre-stage to conduct as well – something which our adjudicator highlighted as a truly impressive feat. In this instance, the second verse was the same as the first with Osi once again claiming victory with Hampden and East and his own mashup of MJ classics, which managed to get staff, students, and supporters alike singing along in its dynamic delivery.

If Partsong and Ensemble saw impressive numbers of musicians, then the Unison round was in a whole different category! The entirety of Year 7 were joined by countless older students on stage for each pairing’s performance in one final bid to get points on the leaderboard and bring the house down with a pop song that their House Music captains had chosen for them. With more contemporary chart-toppers such as ‘Call Me Maybe’ and ‘What Makes You Beautiful’ sung with fantastic energy alongside ‘Livin’ on a prayer’ and ‘Valerie’, it was very difficult to call which way it was going to go, but it was West and Thorndon’s powerful rendition of ‘You Give Love a Bad Name’ that took the top spot led by Maria, Ollie, Gursimran, and Abi. Again, although one House pairing could emerge victorious, all those involved went above and beyond in their singing, dancing, choreography, and inspired use of props as they brought the number of performers on the night to well over 600!

Following a wonderful performance of ‘Let Your Voice Be Found’ by the entirety of Year 7 – led by Mr Ashman-Jones and assisted by a stellar band of students – the final results were revealed; while there were standout moments across the board, Hampden and East’s consistent high-scoring performances in each category proved insurmountable as they were crowned House Music Champions for 2026!

House Music 2026: Results
Overall winner: Hampden and East

Partsong Category
Winner: Hampden & East
Led by Osi B.

Ensemble Category
Winner: Hampden and East
Led by Osi B.

Unison Category
Winner: West and Thorndon
Led by Maria T., Ollie C., Gursimran L., and Abi H.

Prize for Musical Direction
Winner: Juliette T. (North and Weald)

Prize for Musical Arrangement
Winner: Osi B. (Hampden and East)

Instrumentalist Prize
Winner: Max W. (North and Weald)

Although Mrs Chapman and Mr Bond both thanked all those without whom this event would not have been possible, I would be remiss to not echo a few of those here and express my own gratitude. Without the likes of Mrs Chapman and the entire House Staff Team, as well as Mrs Owen, Miss Broom, Mr Herson, and Mx Emmens-Green, the night would not have had the student participation, organisation, realisation, and tech wizardry that made it so special. Equally there is no House Music without the Music Department, and I am especially grateful to my colleagues Mr Heard, Mr Cooper, Mr Barber, Mr Wedmore, Mr Layton, Mr Ashman-Jones, and Miss Marchant for their coordination, coaching, assistance, and administration of the event’s performances as well as their good humour throughout the entire process… and of course our fabulous compères Lionel M and Joe Y for the ease and excellence with which they steered the proceedings on the night.

All of that being said, we on the staff existed only to steer the remarkable endeavours and achievements of our pupils – from Year 7 and new members of the Brentwood community to those who were participating in their last House Music here – all of whom were led with kindness, clarity, and distinction in the form of our House Music Captains. As their testimonials show, it was an evening that they will treasure for years to come and I for one will always be grateful for the lengths they went to in ensuring that the same would be the case for those under their leadership.

Finally, to all those who attended live, tuned in on the livestream, or supported ‘behind the scenes’ as our students practised and prepared both at school and at home, you have my sincere thanks for helping to bring House Music to life. I hope to see many of you in the future at one of our many Performing Arts’ events, but until then…

Bring on next year!