Veteran readers of HEX will see this headline and immediately draw comparisons to the article I wrote this time last year for the first print edition of HEX, and I thought I’d look to do similar for this year’s performance. In an effort to avoid monotony, I will start by briefly mentioning some of the exceptional annual performances that featured in last year’s article.

Live on the Hill is a main stay of the Trevs’ Events calendar, raising more than £4500 this year, well over 50% more than last year’s record. A particularly notable performance was the show’s opening, which saw JCR President Harry Naylor singing the Meat Loaf epic, ‘Bat Out of Hell’, with all of the vigour that we know from his regular HaYK performances. The set list was as diverse as ever, with other standouts including Seb Powell’s incredibly powerful ‘Livin’ on a Prayer,’ Hugo Knowles’ haunting ‘Writing’s on the Wall’ or Georgia Corbett-Clark and Rose Seymore’s stunning ‘Defying Gravity’. Musical Director Niamh Connellan led the best band we’ve seen at Live on the Hill in what was, in my completely unbiased opinion, the best incarnation yet.

Musical Director Niamh Connellan led the the best band we’ve seen at Live on the Hill

Another annual event that I praised last year that was similarly spectacular was Acapella at the Gala, where several of Durham’s top acapella groups perform in a concert, with Footnotes, Fullscore and Durham Dynamics filling the first half, and four time national acapella champions, Northern Lights in the second. It should come as no surprise that Northern Lights blew the audience away; I was a particular fan of the medley with which they opened their half, embodying the theme of ‘Retro to Remix’ by taking us on a whistle stop tour from Mozart’s ‘Lacrimosa’ all the way to Chappell Roan’s ‘Good Luck Babe’. It was not only a musical feat though, as several of the songs also had some incredible choreography, turning it into an all-round spectacular performance. Despite only singing four songs, I thought that Durham Dynamics were fabulous. Having been to Acapella at the Gala for all my four years at Durham, this was definitely the strongest I’ve seen them, with their version of Raye’s ‘WHERE IS MY HUSBAND!’ being the standout for me, very much held together by Bass Tom Kerley and Trevs’ own JCR president-elect, Bex Smith on Vocal Percussion.

One of the most breath-taking performances of the year was Tone Deaf Theatre Company’s production of Come From Away. Not only did this production bring me to tears on multiple occasions as we learn about the menagerie of people brought together in the most unfortunate circumstances: the immediate grounding of all aircraft in the wake of 9/11, but it also did this while being humorous yet sincere enough to handle the subject matter appropriately. What really stood out to me, and elevated the show beyond any other I’ve seen in Durham, was how cohesive it was. The singing, acting, and dancing all flowed together so seamlessly together and fit in so excellently with the music provided by the band and the simply jaw-dropping lighting, that it was hard, at times, to remember that every single person involved was a student rather than a professional performer.

Verdi’s ‘Requiem’ was performed in Durham Cathedral at the end of January in the biggest collaboration I have witnessed while at university, joining together Durham University Orchestral Society, Durham University Choral Society, and 4 soloists, to a sold-out cathedral of over 700 attendees. The scale of this performances was truly breath-taking; seeing and hearing such a massive sound was incredible. The ‘Dies Irae’ lived up to all expectations, but I was particularly in awe of the ‘Tuba Mirum’, where there was a truly magical exchange between the four on-stage trumpets with the four off-stage, tucked away in the cathedral’s north transept. As performances go, I think it will be a while before I see another student concert quite so flawless and epic in every single way.

The scale of this performance was truly breath-taking

A final performance I want to highlight was Walkabout Theatre’s Dracula, in which we were treated to an immersive reimagining of Bram Stoker’s Halloween classic, adapted by Robyn Bradbury. The audience were guided around a tour of Dracula’s Transylvanian castle and other famous locations within the story and invited to sit at a table with the cast or search for clues which made for a truly special retelling of such a famous story, allowing each audience member to witness various different intricacies of an absolutely stunning production.

As ever, it is such a shame not to properly highlight other special pieces of music and theatre here. Some special mentions include being transported back to WWI for Sixth Side Theatre’s Lavender, written by Bex Smith. Members of the Palatinate Ensemble also performed Poulenc’s ‘Sonata for Brass Trio’, while Trevs joined up with St John’s and Castle for a performance in Castle’s Great Hall which included Fauré’s ‘Requiem’. Easter Term holds many more exciting performances such as Palatinate Orchestra tackling the magnificent ‘Rhapsody in Blue’ by George Gershwin as well as Tchaikovsky’s ‘1812 Overture’ on 11 June, with the Orchestral Society performing Saint Saen’s ‘Organ Symphony’ a week later, in what I hope will be a performance to live up to Verdi’s ‘Requiem’. On the more theatrical side of things, there are chances to watch both a musical theatre showcase in Trevs, courtesy of TCMS, as well as Sixth Side’s annual Shakespeare in the Quad, coupled with productions of RENT, The Witches of Eastwick, Antigone, Dear Evan Hansen, and Sister Act after exams.