Choirmaster Gareth Malone takes on his biggest challenge, coaching eight untrained singers to perform Bach’s St John Passion alongside a world-class orchestra and professional choir.
Gareth chooses from hundreds of applicants and auditions new singers for a special performance of Bach’s St John Passion before an intense eight weeks of rehearsing gets underway.
Gareth races to prepare his eight amateur singers for the biggest performance of their lives, taking on Bach’s St John Passion alongside world-class professional singers and musicians.
Gareth’s eight amateur singers are set for the biggest performance of their lives, taking on Bach’s St John Passion alongside world-class professional singers and musicians in Cardiff.
Choirmaster
It Takes a Choir follows the dapper and charismatic British sensation Gareth Malone as he travels across the U.S. to unite an unexpected mix of characters through the spellbinding power of music. A true fish out of water, in both his environment and teaching style, Malone finds himself in the craziest situations with some of the biggest characters. Each episode culminates in a unified and powerful public performance from the choir in front of their family, friends and community.
Clash of the Choirs is a reality talent contest miniseries that debuted on NBC in the United States on December 17, 2007. There were four episodes scheduled in the “quick competition”. Maria Menounos is the host of the program, which was performed live from Stage One at Steiner Studios in Brooklyn, New York. The format was developed by Friday TV from an idea from the Swedish singer and choir leader Caroline af Ugglas. The format was a multi-city “bragging rights” competition between 20-person choirs assembled in the hometowns of the recording artists that support them. In the 2007 competition, the choirs competed for a cash prize of $250,000, backed in part by Sony Pictures in support of its upcoming movie release, First Sunday. The film, about petty criminals using a choir in a neighborhood church as part of their scheme, was released 11 January 2008, in the United States and Canada and throughout Europe in April 2008. The prize was in the form of a contribution to a charity active in the artist's hometown. The choir led by former 98° singer Nick Lachey won the 2007 competition, which was decided by public vote after four nights of live performances. Patti LaBelle's choir finished second, followed by Blake Shelton's, Michael Bolton's, and Kelly Rowland's. The remaining teams received $50,000 each of donations, courtesy of General Electric, parent company of network owner NBC Universal.
Wakana Sakai was involved in music, but gave it up one day. Konatsu Miyamoto loves singing and can't be torn from it. Sawa Okita would do anything for her closest friends. They laugh, they fight, they worry, they love... Through their very ordinary lives, little by little the girls learn to move forward. Sometimes they feel as if they can't go on alone, but as long as they have their friends, they believe they'll make it someday. Wakana, Konatsu, Sawa, and the music they make in their ensemble weave a tiny but dazzling story of the power of music.
