Gareth Malone’s quest for a new choir

HE has taken a choir of military wives onto TV, to the Royal Albert Hall and to the top of the charts, and pitted the workplace choirs he created against each other in competition. He also kick-started the transformation of a town with that had lost its soul with the power of song. Now that charismatic ambassador for choral singing Gareth Malone is taking on a new challenge: to find a group of 18-25-year-olds from across the country who he can train to sing his arrangements of contemporary songs, record them and tour the world.

Malone says he will construct a “ground-breaking choir that will celebrate the amazing talent in our country and initiate a new choral style that is fresh, modern and utterly unique. Our aim will be to inspire a whole generation. Regardless of background, if you have the voice and the vision I want you.”

As shows like The Voice and X Factor prove, having the voice (and nerve) to perform alone or in a small group on live TV can change lives and make some people fortunes.

But every week in all corners of the UK choirs of ordinary people with no material motive feel the immense positives that come with joining together to make a beautiful sound with that most basic and versatile of musical instruments – the human voice. Those benefits are both obvious and subtle.

Ask any choir member why they do it, and near the top of the list will be “it makes me feel so good” and “I have made great friends through singing”.

Some doctors recommend being in a choir as being therapeutic for asthma suffers (you learn to control your breath), those with high blood pressure and people who suffer phobias, anxiety or depression.

As a member of two choirs – one very large and the other more compact – I know that the utter concentration needed to voice the notes, learn the words and convey the mood of a song sweeps all other cares out of your head. The feeling of euphoria when a small challenge has been overcome is indescribable.

Where once choirs had a rather fuddy-duddy image in many people’s perception, Malone and TV choir competition The Choir have changed all that and encouraged people of all ages to join in one of the groups that have sprung up, from rock and jazz choirs to those specialising in show tunes, soul or gospel.

Andy Booth, who guest conducted the 300 voices of the Leeds-based Inspiration community choir with the Orchestra of Opera North on Sunday at Leeds Town Hall, has seen a great growth in appetite for singing.

As well as working with Inspiration (300 members), and more recently forming an Inspiration off-shoot group Echo (50 members) to sing lighter jazz numbers, he founded Carolare (80 members) in Chesterfield 12 years ago and also founded and conducts Sheffield’s new Chorus community choir (100 members).

“Across the choirs ages range from teens to those in their 80s,” says Andy. “What singers find are like-minded people, gentle physical exercise, the social benefits of making new friends and enjoying that joint effort to experiencing and developing the music as you rehearse.

“My mother was agoraphobic and could only walk a few yards from the house, then she began singing. She then joined Carolare, and because the focus on the music took her attention away from the problem, she has been able to travel all over the place and now goes out to see choir friends regularly.

“One of our older members had a serious lung condition and eventually needed major surgery. Afterwards he was told he wouldn’t sing again, but he took it slowly, gradually got his strength back, and is now in several choirs.

“Everybody can sing. I see people who are unsure and nervous transformed into very happy singers.”

Peter Seymour, professor of music at York University, says there are eight to 10 choirs in York (apart from the four groups at the university itself), with dozens of rehearsals going on across the city every week.

“Ideas about choirs have altered, thanks to the media and because many schools have changed the kind of music they teach. A third of new undergraduates now have voice as their main instrument.”

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• For details of auditions for Gareth Malone’s choir keep an eye on www.garethmalonechoir.com Sway, Echo’s concert of easy-on-the-ear Latino Jazz, is at The Venue, Leeds College of Music, on Saturday, April 27 at 7pm.