The two points separation between St Andrew’s and St Paul’s heightened the excitement and tension of the Palladian Instrumental Ensemble competition on 12 September in the Refectory of the USU Holme Building. The win to St Paul’s added three and 2nd place to St Andrew’s added two points leaving us a point apart at the end of the night, with St John’s in 3rd place.

So, in 2024 this becomes the second Palladian win for St Paul’s. Congratulations go to the members of the winning ensemble: Adam Wong and Hugh Baker on guitar, Max Philips and Hugh Jordan on trumpet, Felix Power and Helen Jordan on saxophone, Aidan Cheung on tuba, Jackson Hawley on bass guitar, Daniel Paridis on drums, Bligh Walter on keyboard and vocals, Freya Carmody and Charlotte Hocking on vocals.

Their piece titled Decades and arranged by Adam Wong, consisted of a medley of Johnny B Goode, All You Need is Love and Waterloo.

The other ensemble piece St Paul’s performed on the night was Birdland by Maynard Ferguson, which was with a 17-piece jazz band and only received one mark less than the winning piece.

Some of the comments from the adjudicators were: “the general rizz was infectious”; “the gold spangled jacket is iconic” and “impressive in the power and general energy, also the visual/physical element of the performance”.

Another great victory for St Paul’s by our musically talented Paulines.

Palladian point scores after this penultimate competition were: St Andrew’s 15 | St Paul’s 14 | St John’s 9 | Women’s 8 | Sancta 4 | Wesley 4