A Review of UCL’s Triumphant Rhapsody 2026
Each year, Rhapsody promises an exciting evening of spectacle, sound, and showmanship, flaunting the breadth of creativity that student musicians at UCL have to offer. This year, the genre-hopping ambition felt palpable from the outset, with a huge cast split across two acts. From funk to folk to pop to rock, the setlist saw both new and old songs honoured, combined, and creatively reimagined. Each rendition foregrounds incredible vocal performances, but what truly stood out in 2026 was the instrumental abundance and range that sat behind them. This article covers the moments that stood out to me personally, but are by no means conclusive. As I was on my way out, I heard audience members raving about nearly every aspect of the show.
An eclectic intro of the classic Bond tune ‘Live and Let Die’ packed the stage to the brim with eighteen performers, exuding an instrumental energy unlike any other. The following songs, Tina Turner’s ‘Proud Mary’ and Jungkook’s ‘Standing Next To You’, exhibited a strikingly wide-ranging double punch, anchored by brass instruments that stole the show. The latter performance, complete with infectious vocalists (Justin Lai, Zheng Yang, Diana Camba, Yuki Li) and choreography that deserves to be shown at the Grammys, featured riveting sax moments culminating in an energetic solo (Maxwell Reinstein, Rosie Martin).
Following a Daft Punk medley punctuated by their trademark talkbox, the next major pop moment was a duet between The Weeknd (Cal Kinoshita) and Ariana Grande (Charlotte Sell-Mendoza) on ‘Save Your Tears’. That performance featured enough vocal runs to leave the room breathless. Both ‘Save Your Tears’ and its preceding medley incorporated more conventional rock and pop instrumentation, including drums (Daniel Smith, Ben Francis), guitars (Alec Blatt, Kirti Koramutla, Ashton Elder), and bass (Milo Houlden, Noah Marks-Delgado). But for me, it was the keys (Sean Russell, Ronan Venkat, Ethan Choi, Harriet Kilpatrick) that, across both performances, added the primary flair.
However, the most complete moment of Act 1 had to be Bonnie Tyler’s ‘Holding Out For A Hero’. This performance truly had it all, from an excellent brass section (Rui Zhang, Cassie Wigoder, Clement Hiscock), a powerful bassline (Jared Sy), and dynamic vocals. The backing vocalists (Adèle Engérant, Charlotte Sell-Mendoza, Molly Hanya) elevated the drama to theatrical heights with professional-grade choreography and harmonies punctuating the seemingly never-ending runs of lead vocalist Lina Kharkhach. In sharp contrast, a quietly powerful rendition of Lana Del Rey’s ‘Ride’ opened with Adèle Engérant’s assertion, “I am fucking crazy but I’m free”. The stripped-back Americana arrangement allowed the particularly strong string section (Yoko Takahashi, Yoonsun Hwang, Ava Gibson, Scarlett Gunn) to expand and fill the room, culminating in one of the most striking instrumental moments of the entire set. In the absence of elaborate choreography, all attention shifted to the beautiful musicianship itself.
After an interval, Act 2 ushered in a newfound emphasis on characterisation and emotional depth, opened by a precise prog-rock rendition of King Crimson’s ‘21st Century Schizoid Man’. A mashup of two incredibly pivotal hip-hop tracks, Lauryn Hill’s ‘Doo Wop (That Thing)’ and Ice Cube’s ‘You Know How We Do It’, performed by vocalists Mary Olatunji and Thandile Nash, was impressively dynamic and infectious. Full of character and bundled with fun and creativity, it was most certainly an Act 2 highlight. An equally bold, character-driven rendition of ‘Santé’ by Stromae, performed in French by vocalist Kaan Mizrakli, followed closely behind and served as a testament to how storytelling transcends language barriers.
The consecutive run of performances following Santé featured the most engaging moments of the night. A medley of Pink Floyd hits reflected on the band’s entire journey, punctuated by isolation and loss. My favourite moment was the rendition of ‘Another Brick in the Wall, Part 2’, which saw vocalists Polina Zhilina (who we featured in our last print edition!), Molly Hirst, and Diana Camba leading the charge. Throughout the medley, the guitars (Eshan Hall, Sushant Deshpande) were standouts beyond the vocals. The next interlude was an understated performance of ‘Mama, You Been On My Mind’ by Bob Dylan, performed completely solo by guitarist and vocalist Chris Watson. Though it lacked the boisterous and intricate combination of instruments that Rhapsody is well-known for, it became one of the strongest emotional cores of the set, flowing perfectly into the emotional crescendo of Jeff Buckley’s ‘Lover You Should’ve Come Over’.
The show concluded with Jackson 5’s ‘I Want You Back’, which acted as a celebration and curtain call for the entire performing cast. From high-gloss pop choreography to hushed moments of acoustic intimacy, Rhapsody 2026’s true strength was its emotional range. In a programme built on maximalism, the quieter moments revealed Rhapsody’s true confidence. While the sheer number of genres represented and the technical proficiency of each performing musician have come to be expected by now, what surprised me most was the charm and dedication in each performance. For a three-night show costing only about £10, these student musicians are punching far above their weight, putting on a show that would even surely challenge the skills of seasoned industry professionals. This year’s production team (Gemma Villoresi, Sabeer Sawhney, Amie Stott) set the bar incredibly high, and I can’t wait to see what Rhapsody brings in 2027.
