Episode 1 All Together Now: The Great Orchestra Challenge

We are a nation of enthusiasts.

We love our dogs, our football, our green fields

and, of course, our music.

Across the country, thousands of people play in orchestras.

We want to make music and we want to have a laugh at the same time.

The percussion does help me get rid of a lot of emotion, really.

Balancing busy lives with a passion for music-making.

-Oh!

-THEY LAUGH

I just skipped a line there!

They don't play for money. They do it for love.

Once that piece of music is on that stand,

I can't think of anything else.

To celebrate the efforts of these unsung musical heroes,

-we searched the length and breadth of the country.

-Isn't this exciting?

And chose five orchestras that best captured the spirit

of British amateur music-making...

We've got our battle-axes all sharpened up.

Let's just go sock it to them!

..to find one winner who'll perform at the BBC Proms in Hyde Park.

I'm going all the way. I'm playing in Proms in the Park.

I know you're going to win.

CHEERING

Over a six-month contest,

our amateur orchestras will be set a series of challenges,

from opera to concertos, culminating in a finale right here,

at the Royal Albert Hall.

'But for this first challenge, it's all about the symphony.'

Each of the five orchestras will be given an extract from

a symphony to work on over eight weeks,

before coming together for a finale at BBC's Maida Vale Studios,

where one orchestra will be eliminated.

The judge is eminent conductor Paul Daniel.

No stranger to the amateur scene,

Paul conducted the Wokingham Choral Society in the late '80s

before going on to helm the likes of the

English National Opera and the Last Night of the Proms.

For me, it's about finding the orchestra which actually

has the most enthusiasm, the most joy in their music-making.

Aiding Paul in his quest is our mentor,

the double-bassist Chi-chi Nwanoku.

Co-founding member of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment

and founder of the Chineke! Orchestra,

Chi-chi is an inspiration.

I believe passionately in the power of music and I'm going to do

everything I can to help every orchestra reach its full potential.

Our search for the UK's most inspiring amateur orchestra

begins in Scotland.

Stirling Orchestra was founded in 1983

and has been conducted by Stephen Broad for the last 12 years.

Hey, yum-yum!

'The orchestra and I work together well.

'We try really hard, but on the other hand,

'we try not to take it too seriously.'

Stirling Orchestra is an amazing group of people.

Play to the end of The Peasant Wedding and stop.

I always think of it as being like a huge, great, extended family.

Slightly bonkers.

There's sort of great matriarchs

and the slightly eccentric uncles and the young Turks.

ORCHESTRA BEGINS TO PLAY

Paul will kick off with a masterclass

with each individual orchestra.

I thought we'd start with the symphony.

It's just the orchestra playing, loving the sound it makes.

It's all about sounding together, which is what that word means.

He's starting with Stirling.

For this first challenge, I thought we'd go to the summit

of orchestra repertoire, we'd start with the symphony.

It's one of the great symphonies

and I hope you're going to enjoy playing it.

It's by Dvorak, and it's the New World Symphony. It's the Finale.

And here it is. We'll hand out the parts.

There we go. For you.

-Nice to meet you.

-And you.

So, why did you choose Dvorak 9 for this particular orchestra?

Every single rhythm in every single bar

has something very special about it.

Dvorak was meticulous about giving incredible character

to the rhythms and they change from bar to bar to bar.

So to get that level of definition and clarity...

..really brings the piece alive, and it makes it very special.

-Are you looking forward to this?

-Yes.

-Excellent.

So, with your permission, I'll conduct the first 10 minutes to...

-Please.

-LAUGHTER

..to see us under the first bridge.

OK, let's have a look.

ORCHESTRA BEGINS TO PLAY

Every one of our orchestras is going to be completely different.

And the best way for me to find out how well they can react

and make music together is actually to get in amongst them

and direct them and conduct them.

Thank you. Thank you very much. Thanks.

You know, you're good, but you don't do what's in the parts.

THEY LAUGH

The sound of the orchestra's too shrill because there's no bass.

And you're not letting the sound come from the bottom,

which is where all great sound comes from.

LAUGHTER

Robin is a retired schoolteacher

who's been playing with Stirling for over two decades.

My role is as chairman, which is another way of saying dogsbody.

I'm really just a kind of a go-between.

I play double bass and I've played it...

Excuse me a minute while I think about this.

..for 60 years.

Frankly, between you and me, I don't bloody practise at all.

It takes me all my effort to get the thing out of its case.

So my practice actually tends to be at rehearsals.

ORCHESTRA PLAY

I think possibly, what will help Stirling Orchestra

to get through to the next round of the contest

is by being better than the others.

I still have faith in how we can sound.

Whether nerves will have an affect on us, I don't know.

But certainly, at our best,

when we're kind of relaxed and comfortable, we're good.

I'm going to get out of the way now because you're going to do

all your great work with Stephen.

So thank you very much and over to Stephen!

-Bravo!

-APPLAUSE

Thank you very much.

LAUGHTER

They're very lively people.

Look, the response, look how they are with each other.

You know, the enthusiasm is boundless,

but I'm quite concerned that the basses are

timid beyond belief.

And they can do it. I can see, you know, they're generous people

and they've got lots of music in them and they just have to...

I think they can lead the orchestra more.

The pressure's on. Stirling have just eight weeks

to get the music up to scratch and fix those basses.

Around the country,

the other orchestras are receiving their challenges.

And our first challenge is... Drumroll, please.

First up is London Gay Symphony Orchestra.

-Tchaikovsky Symphony No.6.

-Oooh!

-Nice!

-LAUGHTER

-Next, North Devon Sinfonia.

-OK.

Beethoven 5.

Yes!

And in deepest Yorkshire, Slaithwaite Philharmonic.

What's in the box?

LAUGHTER

I suppose instead of saying welcome, we should say, dobro pozhalovat!

We have a little bit of the second symphony of Rachmaninoff.

ALL: Oooh!

Based in the heart of central Birmingham,

our fifth group is the People's Orchestra.

Oh, my God. Look who it is!

-Oh, my God. Look at these guys!

-Hello!

-Look at you all!

A symphony orchestra features four sections.

Strings, wind, brass and percussion.

But the People's Orchestra has a double-sized wind section

that also includes seven saxophones.

-You founded this orchestra.

-Yes.

-When? What happened? Why?

We decided to try and set up an orchestra that did things

a little bit differently. And that's what we've got.

-You can definitely tell that.

-I know.

It's like no orchestra I've ever seen before. What's your policy?

Where did you find them all from?

We started to try and create a normal symphony orchestra,

like it says in the book, and we got so many flute players come to audition,

they were too good, we couldn't turn them down.

And then Xhosa arrived with his saxophone and just blew it away.

And we were going, "Well, that's it, we've got to change the model."

Let's give it a go.

For the first time, they're playing

an extract from Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique.

ORCHESTRA BEGIN TO PLAY

Symphonie Fantastique is not an easy work.

-Why did you choose this piece for this orchestra?

-You're right.

Berlioz was ridiculously ambitious and...

he had a hell of a time trying to get anything written and performed.

This orchestra has a very similar kind of ambition, it seems to me,

that they want to make the impossible possible.

You know Berlioz? I love him.

Because you know the film, the Shining?

The opening scene where the car goes down the mountain? That's Berlioz.

And he's also in Sleeping with the Enemy with Julia Roberts.

I love Berlioz. I love him.

-Do you want help with your packing?

-I'm all right.

-You sure?

Checkout assistant Jacqueline has been in the orchestra for three years.

We've got double bass, cello, violin, viola, flute.

Oh, we've got so much music to rehearse, it's untrue!

I try to practise every day.

It's difficult because my son works nights,

so I can't practise during the day in my own house,

so I practise at my mum's.

I've always practised every day.

I need to be playing my flute all the time. I love it.

-The orchestra means more to Jacqueline than just music.

-Fab.

What are you doing today, then?

-JACQUELINE SIGHS

-Oh, right, that bad.

I have suffered with depression in the past.

The People's Orchestra, it really helps to focus me and calm me down.

Because once that piece of music is on that stand,

I can't think of anything else.

They're such a wonderful group of people.

The People's Orchestra, for me personally,

is one of the best things I've ever done.

This is an incredible orchestra and what you're doing here's amazing.

I can see... I mean, I would just love to have a go at this.

-Would you mind?

-LAUGHTER

-That's an amazing baton, my...!

-LAUGHTER

Written in 1830, Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique

is the story of an artist who falls in love.

Oh, yes!

Convinced that his love is in vain, he takes opium

and hallucinates that he's being punished for murdering his beloved.

This is a march, a death march.

They're taking you to the scaffold, to the guillotine.

And you've got to go, "Stop!"

One, two!

Like double the amount of noise, yeah? One...

Wind, can you play me your...

This dee-a-ta-ta, dee-a-ta-ta-ta... Yeah?

WIND SECTION PLAY

This orchestra's obviously built around the strength of the wind

and the brass and the saxophones.

They're very, very enthusiastic.

They're a bit like they're trying to dance with juggernauts.

At the moment, there's power, but they need to be much more precise.

It's a big ask to transform this music for an orchestra like this,

with such a different set-up.

But the spirit's there and you've got a lot of work, of course, to do.

I wish you all the very best.

-Yeah!

-APPLAUSE

The contest is on and the orchestras are pulling out all the stops.

-THEY LAUGH

-I skipped a line there!

Time for mentor and double-bassist Chi-chi to enter the fray.

So this is where we're going to rehearse.

She's in Stirling to fix Paul's timid basses.

I've been primed to work with the bass section

because Paul thought it was a bit underpowered from the bottom end

and that it should be driven by the bass.

Because once the basses are completely together

and empowered and strong,

everything else can just fly over the top.

Three and...

BASSISTS PLAY

OK. What's happening is

you're leaving it a little bit too late there, Jill. Um...

And what I'd like you to do is subdivide in your head.

If it's one, two, three, four, I'd like you to go,

one and two and three and four and... And!

'All of the strings have to start with the same rhythm

'that throws you straight into an offbeat.'

And to get an offbeat all together can make people panic a bit.

One, two, three, four.

One, two, three, four. That's it. Keep going.

By suggesting they subdivided, one-two-three-four,

one-two-three-four, it immediately makes things easier.

-One!

-BASSISTS PLAY

Yeah, that's amazing, isn't it?

What finger do you use for the octave B, for high B?

Well, actually, I move down a bit.

Exactly. Any reason for that?

Yes, age.

CHI-CHI LAUGHS

80-year-old Robin is finding the Dvorak tough-going.

Don't move.

For me, in the double-bass section, the trickiest part

in the New World Symphony

is a little kind of triplet motif,

which is imitating what the cellos are doing.

But that is purely and simply because I don't do enough practise.

And... Well done.

I mean, it's beginning to sound a bit more recognisable.

As soon as they'd locked in together, rhythmically,

their sound doubled and, actually, they each make quite a good sound

-Very nice to be in London town again.

-Isn't it? Indeed.

Careful not to let the phrase grow. It slightly desolate.

The London Gay Symphony Orchestra are preparing Tchaikovsky's

Sixth Symphony for Paul.

MUSIC: Sixth Symphony by Tchaikovsky

So, why did you choose this section of this work for this orchestra?

This orchestra is already very accomplished.

This piece is really going to test their ability to play

this kind of music.

Very slow music with great intensity, with great control of the

bows and strings, great breath control and great intonation

in the wind.

It's very difficult.

-Paul, over to you.

-Paul, thank you very much.

-Nice to see you.

-Lovely to see you.

-Thank you.

Please - please - take my stage.

Well, you are already sounding pretty gorgeous, I think.

This section of the symphony, it just comes at you.

Paul wants to work on a moment where the strings and the trombones

answer each other.

That's it.

Trombones.

Try and make it as beautiful as the cello's were playing it.

Ha-ha, all right.

Nah, that's not a crescendo.

Violin versus trombone? They've got to be completely balanced and

matched in the way they play their lines. How smooth, how much

crescendo, what kind of quality of sound. So, you feel like they

couldn't exist without each other.

Ah!

There you are. Yeah, and let that that really dominate

when your crescendo comes through. Yeah?

Just nine days after Tchaikovsky's haunting Sixth Symphony

premiered in St Petersburg in 1892, the composer died.

The London Gay Symphony Orchestra has been running for two decades.

Tell me a bit about the orchestra.

What I absolutely love about the LGSO is that it is

incredibly inclusive. So, although, obviously, it is specifically here

for the LGBT community, it isn't just for them.

We are welcoming and inclusive of everyone.

It's just such a happy orchestra to work for.

-SINGS:

-We are family.

-Which reminds me of what I was doing on Sunday.

-What was it?

Paula has been in the LGSO for three years.

SHE PLAYS

I've been playing the tuba since I was about 11.

I just loved the sound of it as soon as I heard one,

and, of course, it looks wonderful as well.

The main thing I do for a living is gardening.

I've got a little gardening business where I drive around and go

into people's gardens and do all the jobs they don't want to do.

I originally joined the London Gay Symphony Orchestra

four or five years ago. At the time, I wasn't even sure

whether I was transgender

or whether I was just a cross-dresser.

ORCHESTRA PLAYS

The LGSO was the first place I ever actually played as Paula.

It was a bit scary, at first, going along to the rehearsals.

The orchestra made me feel comfortable

and, basically, nobody cares.

Erm, as long as I don't play loud, wrong notes.

ORCHESTRA PLAYS

This is me full-time.

The greatest orchestras struggle with the challenges that

Tchaikovsky gives us, and I know you will struggle a lot.

Paul and I are heading off to catch up with North Devon Sinfonia.

What do you know about this orchestra, Paul?

What are you expecting from them?

In this beautiful countryside,

if you're going to set up a symphony orchestra, which is based in

this area which of little villages and little, tiny hamlets,

you've got to be pretty ambitious, you know.

I'm expecting people who put that much commitment into travelling

to get here and to playing together,

they've got to be a pretty enthusiastic lot.

North Devon Sinfonia were put together 12 years ago

by schoolteacher Emma Kent.

Obviously, there's not a huge amount of players. There are only

two bassoonists in the whole of North Devon and they both

play for me and if anything happens to them, I'll be stuffed.

I do like conducting.

I think it suits my personality, because I'm naturally

bossy or authoritarian.

Control!

Too loud!

You know, I'll often go to rehearsal and I'll either have a headache

or I've got a bad back or I'm not in the mood,

and by the end, all my ills are fixed.

North Devon's challenge is Beethoven's Fifth.

In search of bigger sounds,

it was Beethoven who grew the orchestra from a small group

into the large combo of strings, wind and brass we see today.

In this movement, trombones appear for the first time in a

renowned symphony and they've stayed ever since.

So, why did you did you choose this piece of music

-for this orchestra?

-Every part of the orchestra has an enormous

challenge in this piece. You know, you have to be able to jump from

different styles of playing, from bar to bar.

How short can you play, how really together can you play,

how ebullient can the rhythm, the dance rhythm, be.

There are things happening at the top of the orchestra which are

completely different from the things at the bottom.

They've got to complement each other.

-Nice to meet you.

-Nice to see you. Hello, hi.

-Hi.

Let's have a go. Just the beginning of it, yeah?

The timps and the horns and the trumpets,

let's have a look you first.

The very beginning.

Sorry, sorry.

LAUGHTER

-I'm ready now.

-Don't apologise.

-You may begin now.

PAUL CHUCKLES

OK. Now, you're being encouraged by your timpanists,

because you're just, just ahead of the sound. Yeah?

Timpanist Annie Hill has been a member of North Devon Sinfonia

for five years.

I try to visualise.

Always have done, really.

I'm actually rehearsing, but playing in the concert.

I have the conductor, so, this is Emma.

-I've got to try and watch her.

-These are the audience.

These are my friends, they make me laugh.

And up in the box,

is my dear Mum and Dad.

I find that really helps me.

On the day, I'm not quite as nervous, because I think,

"Well, I've done this. I've already performed."

Cup of tea.

When I'm not playing the timps,

I'm a full-time carer for my husband,

who is a poorly lad, really.

He developed multiple sclerosis when we'd been married for six months.

The percussion does help me get rid of a lot of emotion, really.

Especially if I'm really wound up.

The importance of North Devon Sinfonia to me as a person...

My goodness me, they've been a real tonic,

and they're lovely people.

HE SINGS ALONG WITH MUSIC

That's better, yeah. Much better, much better.

So, all the very best,

and I look forward to seeing you again very soon.

Thank you.

Thank you.

I been watching all your bowing. I was going to find you.

Visit your house and make you bow properly.

We should talk about Emma for a minute, because she's obviously

hugely loved by all the orchestra, but, you know, she's an amateur.

She's a very, very bright musician.

It's her orchestra. She is, if you like, she's quite a teacher in her

personality with them, and they respond as pupils.

And I really think they have to take responsibility.

As a conductor, you have to rehearse them and then you have to step back,

and I think for her to be able step back is one of the most

important parts of the development of their work.

MUSIC: A Message To You, Rudy by The Specials

In Birmingham, the saxophones of the People's Orchestra are getting

together for a mentoring session with Chi-Chi.

Hi I'm Xhosa. I play saxophone with the People's Orchestra.

Xhosa Cole has been playing with the People's Orchestra for four years,

since he was 15.

Well, I play clarinet, sax and flute and I love all three of them,

but, I must admit, sax has just got the edge for me.

There's not many young people my age in my community, certainly,

that play in orchestras.

Normally, we play lots of film music or TV music.

MUSIC: The Magnificent Seven Theme

No-one's in it to be better than anyone else.

It's just we want to make music, you know, we will have a laugh

at the same time.

Xhosa's very independent.

He practices all the time.

I'll come home from work sometimes and he'll just be playing

and it's really lovely, actually.

JAZZY MUSIC

I enjoy some of the music that Xhosa plays.

There's some music that Xhosa knows that I struggle with a little more.

The piece of music we've just been playing through and having

a great time with is one of my compositions and it's called

I Want To Live In The West Midlands.

Hi there.

Chi-Chi is hoping to fine tune saxophones in

Berlioz's Symphonie fantastique.

I've heard from Paul that you can be a bit overpowering as a team

within the orchestra, so, we don't want that to happen.

OK, ready?

I got to try and find a way to get them to listen and play

in a way that they're not used to, because we need to re-balance them.

One second. Can I just say that you came in like a wall of sound,

but you did not relate to what had been going on beforehand.

I'm going to have to get them away from their music,

so, I'm going to blindfold them.

I want you to now put these on,

because I think you're still stuck inside your music.

Blindfolds on.

Three, four...

Fantastic. Stop.

That was actually as good, if not better,

than when you're staring at your music.

I'm serious.

-Because you listened in a different way.

-Mm-hm.

It was a very interesting experience

being blindfolded while playing the music.

It's the first time I've ever done it, for sure.

Not the first time I've been blindfolded in a pub.

I did have a little bit of laughter about that.

They all got a little bit of confidence, cos they realised

how well they knew it, you know.

Cos they were not expecting to not only play it looking at me,

but with a blindfold on, so they couldn't even glance at their music

for a split-second. And they got it.

The last of Paul's masterclasses is in Yorkshire

with Slaithwaite Philhamonic.

They're conducted by professional conductor, Ben Ellin.

I'm originally from Lancashire,

but my father was from Sheffield,

so, they cut me a little bit of slack, in the sense that I've

got one toe, if you like, in what they would say is the correct

side of the border, you know.

Slaithwaite is one of the oldest amateur orchestras in the country,

having just celebrated its 125th birthday.

Edward, this is the first minute book of the

Slaithwaite Philharmonic Orchestra.

1892. This is the picture -

before our time, of course - this is...

I think so, Chris.

National competition winners in Birmingham in 1913.

We don't enter many competitions, but we're in one now, so...

On the night, we've always pulled it off.

Why?

If we knew and we could bottle it, we'd make a fortune.

Would you mind if I had a go?

Please do, yeah.

Slaithwaite's challenge is Rachmaninov's Second Symphony.

It's a scherzo. It's the fast music in the symphony.

It was an enormous success, because of this virtuosity

in his writing and in the orchestra's playing,

and they have to take that on board when they play.

It sounds like a background at the moment. It got to be like

a whole different thing going on. Yeah?

You're doing triple whatever-they-are in the air, yeah?

Showing off and hoping someone's going to watch you instead of them.

HE SINGS INTRO NOTES

Yeah, much more brilliant than that though.

HE SINGS THE MUSIC

They're very good.

They have great pride in their playing.

They work very hard.

Yeah, where's the crescendo?

'But they lack panache.

'They've got to let go of their dignified sort of restrained'

way they consider the music and really allow themselves to

show off and be, terrible word, flashy

because that's what Rachmaninov's written.

It's going to be very good.

You've got to get a lot more characters all round.

I mean, you're starting to look for them.

-Really, they're going to come through, aren't they, Ben?

-Yes.

-Yes.

-Definitely.

-LAUGHTER

Yeah. Great stuff.

How do you find being, you know, put through your paces by Paul?

-Quite challenging.

-Yeah, it's challenging. It's like, it's good.

It sort of pushes us.

He was great at explaining everything and really getting

into the sort of... Underneath the skin of the music,

but obviously taking it at a speed that we're not quite ready for yet,

I think, so that is something we can work on over the next few weeks.

The sheep are coming in all directions.

Around the country, our musicians are all practising hard.

At stake, the chance to play at the BBC Proms in the Park in September.

But before that, they must pass the first test.

In less than a month's time, five orchestras will play their

challenge for Paul at London's Maida Vale Studios.

North Devon Sinfonia have had the last movement of

Beethoven's Fifth for a month.

With the aid of a borrowed double bass,

Chi-chi has come for a one on one session with conductor Emma Kent.

I'm going to try and work on a few points with you that were

observations of Paul's.

Because it's so much your orchestra, your baby, you're in charge,

but he had the feeling that you needed to empower the rest of

the orchestra a little bit more, give them a bit more responsibility.

Mm. OK. I probably won't be as bossy with you as I am with the orchestra.

Be as bossy as you like!

SHE BEGINS PLAYING

Emma, we've played one not and you were looking at the score.

That's cos your eyes are very penetrating.

Because I'm waiting for you to instruct me.

Right, OK.

BEGINS PLAYING

'A conductor's job is to really come out of that school.

'They should come prepared. As prepared as the players are.'

And if she can get her eyes out,

they will feel much more engaged.

If your face isn't in the music,

you will bring everybody in with your eyes and your hands.

-Mm.

-And I think that will be...

Not only will you feel empowered, because it's all coming from

you, rather than from the book, but also...

No, it is just a security blanket.

I rest my case.

There are two weeks until Maida Vale and Chi-chi

has one last stop to make.

She's in Yorkshire to help Slaithwaite Philharmonic bring

out Paul's flashiness in Rachmaninov's Second Symphony.

OK.

OK. Can we stop?

Erm... Just right from the very beginning,

I don't see any thrill of excitement.

I'm not getting the feeling of a performance yet.

You've got to come out of the music a little bit.

Get the passion across a little bit more.

So, just play the rhythm. Dum-digga-dum digga-dum.

Digga-dum. Digga-dum. Digga-dum.

So that bow comes to life every single time off that string.

THEY BEGIN PLAYING

OK.

That's not bad. That's not bad. The energy is fantastic.

Edward, how did it feel for you?

LAUGHTER

It's been a long time, but...

LAUGHTER

No, I thought that was very good, what you did there.

It was amazing how just playing it simply like that made such

-a difference.

-It did.

-Well, I thought so anyway.

-Yes.

President of Slaithwaite Philharmonic, Edward has been

a proud member of the orchestra since 1969.

Last year, they discovered that I had

a very large tumour on my liver.

But fortunately, I finished up in the hands of an excellent surgeon.

We thought we'd cracked it and I felt really well.

On the part they didn't touch, there were six spots of cancer.

And he said, "There's nothing we can do about that."

I'm 73 in September and I want to make 75.

And he looked at me as much as to say, "You've no chance,"

but we'll see.

There's something about Slaithwaite Philharmonic Orchestra.

There is some magic in there.

We're going all the way. I've told them that. We're going to win.

Come on! Come on! Here you are then!

Across the nation, practice is reaching fever pitch.

Judgment Day is near.

Ah! Short break.

It's Final Weekend at the world famous BBC Maida Vale Studios.

Over the next two days, all five orchestras will be performing

their challenge piece for the world famous conductor Paul Daniel.

At the end of which, he will decide which orchestra leaves the contest.

I want to find the orchestra that best captures the spirit of

this wonderful amateur music making that we have in this country.

Maida Vale is the home of the BBC Symphony Orchestra,

but it isn't just about classical music.

Everyone from the Beatles to Bing Crosby has played here.

Really excited. It's really exciting being here.

It's really good being in just this historic place.

We've got our battle axes all sharpened up and we're going

to go in there and we're going to really enjoy ourselves.

There was Prosecco on the train and we're all in fine fettle

this morning, ready to give it a good bash.

You're going to get spiked.

It's a huge place. I hadn't realised just how big..

And also there's the additional pressure because we know this

is a hurdle that we've got to get over, if we want to progress.

-So, we're going to hear Stirling. What do you remember about them?

-Oh, I remember the energy.

I remember the best things about being an amateur orchestra.

They're there because they love to play.

But the basses were timid. I didn't feel that they were kind of driving the sound,

which they need to do, and I wanted them to be really locked into

the foundations of the orchestra. And that's got to come.

Isn't this exciting?

LAUGHTER

The most important thing is to enjoy it and the second most

important thing, after enjoying it, is...?

-Not to give up.

-LAUGHTER

No matter what happens.

Each orchestra will play their symphonic extract once

through for Paul.

Oops.

We're going back this way. Sorry, ladies.

After all five have played, Paul will decide who leaves.

First up are Stirling,

with the fourth movement of Dvorak's New World Symphony.

Hello, Stirling! How fantastic to see you.

I cannot tell you how much I've been looking forward to hearing

how the rehearsals have been going. I hope you've been working hard.

This is the moment of truth. Stephen, it's over to you.

One, two, three, four.

# Fourth movement of Dvorak's New World Symphony #

APPLAUSE

I just suddenly realised I was so dehydrated, just beforehand.

I suddenly felt...like a cork!

-Chi-chi, I thought that marvellous.

-They did it. All the things that we talked about.

It was just huge, the way they'd improved. Paul, I know you can't really comment.

You've got a lot of judging to do. But immediate reaction?

I'm reserving my judgment.

Fair enough.

-Did you think we could have played that much better?

-No. No.

There are a couple of tiny nuances, but in the circumstances,

-I mean, under pressure, cos this is under pressure.

-It's under pressure.

'I think the orchestra is very pleased with how it went.

'They know that they've done their absolute best.'

They couldn't possibly have put any more into it.

So, whatever happens with the result, I think they'll go

home feeling they've put their whole heart into this.

Next up, Slaithwaite Philharmonic.

We're going to go up there now and I know you're going to win.

It's important for the orchestra. For me, it's not important any more.

But it's important for the orchestra to get through.

-We're going to do it.

-CHEERS AND APPLAUSE

Slaithwaite Philharmonic. What do you think?

They're very traditional. They're very proud.

I felt that they were kind of sitting a bit on this tradition.

The orchestra felt a little bit immovable to me.

I'm hoping that that spark, which wasn't there when we worked,

will come through.

Hello, Slaithwaite. Good luck. Enjoy it. This is it. Over to you, Ben.

They'll be performing an excerpt from the second movement

of Rachmaninov's Second Symphony.

# Excerpt from the second movement of Rachmaninov's Second Symphony #

APPLAUSE

Yeah, it was all right. Yeah, it was good. Yeah, don't worry.

My mum does that after our gigs. Are they all happy? Yes!

-It was very good!

-HE LAUGHS

-What did you think?

-It was a very classy sound.

-They are very confident, aren't they?

-They are a very classy bunch of musicians.

-I mean, for me, it's... It's a big balance.

-It's a hard job.

-You're the judge. You've got to think about it. Come on, let's go.

-Yes.

'When you get in your dotage and you're sat in your chair,

-'you'll tell your grandchildren about that.'

-Yes!

'I feel immensely proud of the orchestra, to be honest.'

I shouldn't say too much cos if they hear me say it,

they won't let me forget it, but I feel immensely proud.

To be here with them, doing this, sharing that moment with them,

I think is absolutely great.

Next up, it's the People's Orchestra.

And Jacqueline's feeling the nerves.

I do suffer very badly with performance anxiety.

At the minute, I feel really ill, yeah.

-When did you come down? Last night?

-This morning.

-Left at 6:45.

-Are you wide awake?

-Mm.

-Ish! Look at...

I didn't realise there was another 5:30.

-I thought there was just 5:30pm.

-SHE LAUGHS

-The People's Orchestra.

-The balance of the orchestra is a tricky one.

There are many, many wind players, of course, saxophones,

and the brass and so on.

And they are dominating, so it's a tricky one for them.

They need to be more refined in the sound they make.

They need to balance the sound.

They need to be more precise with the rhythm.

The People's Orchestra will be performing

March To The Scaffold from Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique.

# March To The Scaffold from Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique #

APPLAUSE

I was so nervous before. Oh, my God.

Nightmare.

I've got to be honest, I'm quite excited how much they've improved.

Yes, they have. I like their rhythm.

It was messy when I heard them and it was really much tighter.

Nailed. It was fantastic. I'm really pleased with our performance.

But now that it's all over, it's like a huge weight's been

lifted off my shoulders and I feel absolutely normal again.

I feel fine now.

It's great!

Next, North Devon Sinfonia.

-Have you been in to the hall yet?

-No.

-Oh, you're going to love it.

-We're being held like caged animals.

Timpanist Annie is doing some last minute practice.

-Oh, it's great to see you!

-Good to see you too.

-And...

-# Da-da-da-da

-And...

-# Da-da da-da

-That's... And...

-# Da-da-da

-And...

-# Da-da-da da-da-da... #

-That's it.

-Brilliant. You've got it. That's it! That's it!

-Ahhh!

-I've only got to do on the night now!

-No, that's it!

I love the fact you're all in such smart black tie.

You're all looking gorgeous.

Well, we all stayed up far too late and we've all socialised and

we all know each other's private life stories in

a way we never did before.

So we've really enjoyed that aspect and Maida Vale's just a cherry.

We need to group hug mentally on that stage!

-And number one, let's just go sock it to them! Yeah?

-ALL:

-Yeah!

Paul is looking for conductor Emma to relinquish her school

teacher mantle and enable her orchestra more.

Emma has also decided to conduct

the last movement of Beethoven's Fifth without a score.

One, two.

# Fourth movement of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony #

APPLAUSE Fantastic! Well done!

And you're the first lot to stand up for us as well. We like that!

LAUGHTER

I really hope we've got through.

Yeah, there's a little bit of me that - I'm going all the way,

I'm playing in Proms in the Park, whether Paul likes it or not!

That's where I'm going to be!

It's a classic example of an orchestra that is on fire

and it shows in everyone's face. It's wonderful.

And does that mask some imperfections?

Well, yeah, but I love the enthusiasm.

I think it went really well. There were some phrasings.

We were together, 98.3% of the time. Ah!

Conducting without a score was fine, actually. It was good.

I think there were loads of positives and in fact,

a few of the orchestra have said, you know,

having me right there, eyeballing them,

did encourage them to do the right thing in the right place.

Occasionally missed a couple of entries,

but I think the pluses of what went well from conducting from

memory outweighed the negatives, so no, it was fine.

I'm quite relieved.

-Get on the bus.

-Bye!

TOOTS HORN

Last up is the London Gay Symphony Orchestra.

-I like the attire.

-Thank you very much.

Well, I always think, if you go for pink,

someone's going to look at you.

You were saying that you're feeling all right though.

At the moment, yes. I haven't got too much to do.

And I haven't got as much potential to ruin the whole thing as

-some of the others.

-Oh, stop it! You're not going to ruin anything. Honestly.

The London Gay Symphony Orchestra were impressive,

-right from the get go. You've got high expectations of them.

-Yes, of course.

There are lots of things they need to achieve, of course.

The violins play this melody and they're being answered by the

cellos and the trombones,

so it's a lot for them to take on and to find a sound and a rhythm,

and the balance of the orchestra, which is also a big challenge.

Now is when I start chewing my lip.

They'll be playing an excerpt from the fourth movement of

Tchaikovsky's Sixth Symphony.

Two, three.

# Excerpt from the fourth movement of Tchaikovsky's Sixth Symphony #

APPLAUSE

Oh, I feel a bit teary.

Thank you very much indeed. Well done.

-Bravo, ladies and gentlemen.

-THEY CHEER

For me, I just thought there was an emotional edge that was missing.

They were careful, rather than taking the risks that

Tchaikovsky took with the emotional centre of the music.

-You see, it nearly made me cry.

-Yeah. Almost.

-So they were

-getting something right.

-Well done, team. Well done.

'I could really hear everything that everyone was doing and how'

much emotion was going into it.

It was really quite moving and when we got to the end, it was...

Oh, I can't smile after that! It's just ripping my heart out!

Five wonderful orchestras, actually. It's been a really uplifting couple of days.

Yeah, incredible what they've done, isn't it?

They're great advertisements

for amateur music making in this country.

'Paul must now begin the tough job of deciding which four

'orchestras have shown the most inspiration and musical

'improvement and which one will leave.'

A lot of the sound was coming out of instruments and falling on

the floor, as far as I was concerned.

Had they taken your advice on board and done what you asked them to do?

-Not enough.

-They would says - well, this is our character.

We're not showy offy.

But for me, it was about that ingredient,

whatever we call it, passion.

-It was too reserved for me.

-Nervous? Are you nervous?

Yeah, I think it's got to the stage now where it's in the lap of the gods.

We're getting more nervous than we thought we would.

I definitely am, anyway.

-We did our best, didn't we?

-Yeah.

-I think.

-And we don't want to get kicked out though, do we?

-No.

We have loved hearing all five orchestras play over the last

couple of days. It's been an absolute delight for us.

This is the hard bit now. So, Paul.

Stirling Orchestra,

Stephen,

the work you've done with them and their playing was transformed,

I thought.

Those famous basses, who were like timid little sheep at the

beginning, they were transformed.

They were much, much stronger.

Technical skills, you've got a lot of work to do.

Slaithwaite Philharmonic, Ben,

your orchestra, it's classy, it's built on tradition.

It's a very skilful orchestra, but sometimes the skill gets in the way,

perhaps, of a little bit of risk and a little bit of electricity.

The People's Orchestra, well, Dan,

you've done some really hard work and they've transformed.

I heard the rhythms come alive.

Technically speaking, there was a huge improvement.

But I would say one thing, those poor string players who

really work their socks off, you've got to love them more.

North Devon Sinfonia, Emma, really great.

A captivating performance, I thought.

We all felt, and I felt personally, that that was probably the

biggest transformation of any of the orchestras today.

Having said that, the wind and brass, they were a bit patchy.

And the London Gay Symphony Orchestra, Chris, really good,

sensitive sound, I think, you've got.

I had one big thing that I was missing and that was the kind

of emotional threat in the music.

You played really safe.

And so, I know that we have to say goodbye to one orchestra today.

I regret to say

that the orchestra that will not be continuing

to the next round of our contest...

..is...

..the Slaithwaite Philharmonic.

Very sorry. But thank you very much for all your work. Thanks, Ben.

-Thank you.

-Thanks a lot.

-Thank you so much for taking part.

-Yeah.

-Thank you so much.

What I'd like to say to you is well done, you are fantastic.

We're delighted you're going through to the next round.

Well done.

That's brilliant. Well done.

You're the only one who came along without a score.

Disappointed, obviously. We'd have loved to have gone further.

I'm sure our members would have loved to have gone further.

We wanted to proceed further in the process, but in terms of the

disappointment, I'm still incredibly proud of the orchestra.

Slaithwaite were actually, technically,

probably the most proficient of all the orchestras that we've

heard these last two days.

But for me, it's not about being technically the most brilliant,

it's about having a passion and a joy in your playing.

And being able to communicate that to the audience and today,

Slaithwaite Philharmonic just didn't give me that.

We have some news.

-We're through to round two.

-THEY CHEER

I'm delighted to say that we're through to the next round.

THEY CHEER

-Hello, everybody!

-Hello, everybody!

-ALL:

-Hi!

-We got through!

-THEY CHEER

-Ha-ha! We're through!

-We're through!

THEY CHEER

Next time, we're off to the opera, as the four remaining orchestras

get to grips with arias and opera singers.

I'm trying to read the music, and watch the conductor,

and listen to the singer at the same time.

-And it's quite difficult.

-And four will become three.

One orchestra will not be continuing.

The stakes are getting higher.