Warwick Glee wins at Nationals

The fledgling musical society Warwick Glee won the Masters of Show Choir competition, beating show choirs from Cambridge, Sussex, Swansea, and Royal Holloway to the title.

The competition, hosted by Royal Holloway, was judged by West End star Heather Douglas and musical director Nick Barstow on Saturday 9 March. The judges awarded best soloists to Glee members Calvin Rose and Emilia Meakin, as well as naming Warwick Glee overall winners.

“It was one of the best moments of my university life,” said Glee soloist Monique Perks, who is also in her second year of English Literature.

Warwick Glee’s president Brenda Wong, who is also a second-year Law undergraduate, agreed. “I felt a combination of euphoria, relief, and a great sense of pride. These people are my family, and seeing them happy sent me over the moon.”

The choir performed arrangements of Leona Lewis’ ‘Run’, the Scissor Sisters’ ‘I Don’t Feel Like Dancing’, Emeli Sandé’s ‘Wonder’, and One Direction’s ‘That’s What Makes You Beautiful’.

Creative director Jordan Charles described the “taxing and time-consuming” effort that went into writing over 3,000 bars of music in a month.

“Finding songs was about balance,” he said. “I wanted to find songs that people know and love, but to present them in a way they weren’t expecting. I think that came through most in ‘Run’, which is a solo song, but we chose to perform it as a ballad. I wanted to pick songs that would allow our members to showcase their personalities.”

“The hardest part was writing the harmonies,” he added. “But there are few better feelings than standing in the rehearsal room and hearing the harmonies come through for the first time.”

Of Warwick Glee’s experimental use of choreography in their performance, he said: “I honestly think we’re blazing a bit of a trail in UK Show Choir with our choreography.

Most choir leaders and members advised us against it, but the judges commended our use of the space and mentioned our choreography as an important part of the win. I think it helps channel the meaning of the songs, and a good fist pump is ALWAYS a crowd-pleaser!”

Rehearsals began a month before the competition, and Glee rehearsed twelve hours each week. In the week preceding the competition, the society was rehearsing every day from 4-10pm.

“We were in it to win it,” said Wong. “As Cambridge stole our song last year, knowing we would perform it and doing it anyway, we wanted to show them we wouldn’t be messed with.”

The choir was frightened by the unexpected technical difficulties they faced on the day of the competition. “The band got our set wrong during rehearsals and the performance itself. Luckily we covered it well,” said Wong.

Recalling a day of frustration in which everything seemed to go wrong, Perks said she was “broken-hearted by it all. We really thought we didn’t stand a chance. Then we spurred each other on, and we gave one of the best performances of our set!”

In the aftermath of their win, the three Glee members were understandably proud of their society. Perks, Wong, and Charles have all sung and performed extensively outside of Glee, but they all agree there is something special about the society, which is only in its third year.

“Every week we have assignments and perform them to the rest of the society. This is optional, but most people really put a lot of effort into their song choice and performance,” said Perks.

“The atmosphere is always so chilled and welcoming. I only joined for Masters of Show Choir and now Glee has literally become my life. I don’t know what I’d do without these people. We are a family.”

Wong was also keen to emphasise this side of the society. “A lot of people choose Glee as their place of solace and acceptance,” she said.

“It’s because we accept anyone into the fold. We don’t audition anyone to join the society; we only audition in house for performances.

“That allowed a lot of people to breathe easy. Some people have come up to us and said that we are much less intimidating than talented juggernauts like MTW or WUDS.”

“Glee is a safe place, a place for everyone to be heard in all respects,” she concluded. “Whether that’s music, or their feelings and problems!”