Episode 4 All Together Now: The Great Orchestra Challenge

Hello and welcome to the grand final

of Altogether Now, The Great Orchestra Challenge -

our celebration of Britain's amateur musicians.

All across the land, many of us balance busy work schedules

and family life with playing in an orchestra.

Whoa.

It's euphoria, it's great. Music's the best.

We reached out to hundreds of orchestras and picked the five

that we felt best captured the spirit of British amateur music.

Let's just go sock it to 'em!

They've been asked to flex their musical muscles

and play as they've never played before.

Oh, what a thrill. I'm buzzing.

So far in this contest, they've tackled symphonies...

Tchaikovsky No. 6. Ooh!

..operas

and concertos.

And now, after months of musical challenges,

we've whittled five orchestras down to just two.

The North Devon Sinfonia

and Stirling Orchestra.

Now, let battle commence.

We're sizing up the competition here.

It's suddenly getting very real.

No, no, no, no!

Good. I'm glad. I'm glad you can't play it.

It completely blows every other challenge out of the water.

And the final two go head-to-head at the Royal Albert Hall

for a chance to play at Proms in the Park.

They've got to go up another level to be good enough

to play at Proms in the Park.

We're bringing our two finest orchestras together

for a musical boot camp at Malvern College.

Oh, look at that!

In the blue corner is Stirling Orchestra,

who got through to the final after a stunning rendition

of An Orkney Wedding, with Sunrise at Dunblane Cathedral.

It's daunting, in that we know that we're going to be playing

in the Royal Albert Hall.

And that is...that is a real thought.

But I think exciting kind of trumps daunting, actually.

In the green corner is the North Devon Sinfonia.

Last time, they gave a rousing performance of

the Bourgeois Trombone Concerto at the Lifeboat Station in Ilfracombe.

It's exciting. We never thought we would be here,

so we're really excited about what we might be getting up to today.

The orchestra have got quite carried away and think they're

going paintballing, but I think we will be doing music all day.

Keeping a watchful eye over both orchestras

is the celebrated conductor and our judge Paul Daniel.

These two orchestras have got to this point

not because they're the greatest orchestras in the world,

but because, for me, they really sum up

the spirit of what a great amateur orchestra can be.

The way they demonstrate through their playing

the joy they have for their music-making.

It's just as important, for me, as the kind of brilliance

and technical skill you can see in an orchestra.

And here to get the best out of each orchestra

is double bass maestro Chi-chi Nwanoku.

'These amateur musicians'

have pushed themselves beyond

what most amateurs would dream of.

In some ways, it's even more committed than you might see

on the professional platform.

After surviving three rounds in the contest, the orchestras will

now get a chance to check each other out at close range.

We're sizing up the competition here.

It's suddenly getting very real.

So, how many cellos are you?

How many have you got?

I think we've got some missing. I think it's seven or eight.

I'm suddenly feeling quite nervous.

I thought there might be a bit of scary rivalry,

but they're really lovely, so I don't think it's going to get

messy in any way. No.

Plus, I wouldn't want to mess with the Scottish.

Definitely not.

Yes, we've got...

Everyone seems really friendly.

And we're all commenting on our green and blue outfits.

We passed by the cello section and we got blued up.

'Here we are. I can't believe it.'

And the next step, Albert Hall.

I...

It's just mind-blowing. I cannot get over it.

Overseeing North Devon's success so far

are founders husband and wife team Emma and Dan Kent.

'It was really exciting, actually, 12 years ago,'

to set up an orchestra where I could kind of do the conducting thing

without having to qualify.

I just kind of naturally qualified by deciding to set the orchestra up.

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.

Can you three carry on working on that, actually?

When not conducting the orchestra, Emma is Director of Music

at a school in North Devon.

'I do like conducting.'

I think it suits my personality, cos I'm naturally bossy, authoritarian.

I make quick decisions.

Can we all finish in the same place, please?

'Emma is definitely feeling the pressure of the contest.'

There's a huge weight of responsibility on her shoulders.

And it keeps her awake at night,

hoping that she doesn't let anybody down.

It has been very, very...

intense, cos of our own family to bring up.

I've got school work to do. I've got the orchestra's needs to meet.

But it is just a pressure point.

When you get to this point, you've just got to put your head down

and burrow, haven't you? See what happens.

ALL TALK

First of all, congratulations.

How fantastic that you two orchestras are through to the final!

ALL: Yeah! APPLAUSE

Paul and Chi-chi are going to be here for you this weekend.

And, Paul, tell them about their musical challenge.

We're here in Great Malvern.

It was a particularly magical place for one composer,

who I'm sure you know very well.

He wrote some of the most wonderful English orchestral music.

Elgar set off on a wonderful idea to write some pictures of

his friends into an orchestral score.

And, you know very well, it's called Variations on an Original Theme.

Also called Enigma.

'These variations are concentrated jewels, if you like.'

They're some of the greatest music in the British repertoire.

They test every aspect of an orchestra's skill -

its personality, its character.

Everything about the way they play together.

I've got a few expert instrumentalists up my sleeve

that are going to come along and work with you in specific sections.

There can be only one orchestra playing at Proms in the Park,

so good luck and have a great weekend.

Yes, good luck.

APPLAUSE

What do you want these two orchestras

to get out of this weekend?

Well...

this is 48 hours when they can really concentrate

on playing together -

but also on being together.

You know, they are very, very busy people.

Professional musicians spend all their time

with their instruments and their job.

If you are an amateur musician,

you've got a whole other life going on as well.

And you just cram in the rehearsals

and then just winkle out the time to be together.

Of course, the better the orchestra know each other as a group

of people, the better they'll play together, right?

Exactly. Exactly.

Once the orchestras have been given their repertoire,

they have just two weeks to perfect their parts

before the play-off at the Royal Albert Hall.

No pressure, then.

Before the hard work begins,

a chance to check into their rooms at this musical Hogwarts.

SHE LAUGHS

It's not five-star, is it?

LAUGHTER But it's very nice.

Paul starts the weekend with a masterclass with the orchestra.

This is a chance for him to get into the driving seat

and listen out for their strengths and weaknesses.

Up first is Stirling.

Paul's also revealing which of Elgar's Enigma Variations

he's chosen for them to play.

There are four variations for you.

And the first one you're going to play

is definitely number one.

MUSIC: Variation I by Elgar

How are these two orchestras doing?

Where are we at with Stirling, to start with?

They are very spirited. They have real guts.

They've been, of course, quite messy in certain technical ways.

His theme, this...

You know, the famous... dee-dah, dee-dah.

It's woven into the texture.

ORCHESTRA PLAYS

The main theme came about one evening in 1898,

when Elgar played a melody on the piano.

His wife, Alice, liked it, so he improvised variations on the theme.

ORCHESTRA PLAYS

And Variation I is about Alice.

'The story of their marriage

'could have been almost scandalous when they got together,'

because she was from a very established family and he was

a completely penniless lad, but they were completely in love.

ORCHESTRA PLAYS

Stephen Broad has conducted the orchestra

for the last 10 of its 34 years.

Stirling Orchestra is an amazing group of people.

I almost think of it as being like a huge, extended family, where people

who wouldn't normally get together are thrown into the same room.

'It is pretty challenging to balance work and family life'

and the orchestra.

One, two, three. Whey!

But, luckily, help is at hand,

thanks to the orchestra's leader - his wife, Jo,

who he met when she performed as a soloist at one of his concerts.

'I was really struck by her straightaway, actually.'

The Stirling Orchestra has changed my life massively.

'I met my husband'

and now I've got lovely children.

ORCHESTRA PLAYS

I feel hugely proud of the orchestra.

The way they pull performances out of the hat is extraordinary.

Now, this is another great friend. He's called Troyte Griffith.

This guy was an architect.

It's very fast.

One, two, three and...

ORCHESTRA PLAYS

Playing Troyte, Variation VII, together for the first time,

what Paul hasn't mentioned is how much of a shocker it is.

ORCHESTRA PLAYS

LAUGHTER

Yes!

The art of faking!

ORCHESTRA PLAYS

At the moment, I am in shock.

It's completely blows every other challenge out of the water,

like ten times.

Marvellous, yes.

Good. I'm glad. I'm glad you can't play it.

LAUGHTER

Cos you're very good at playing everything, but this is...

I hope it's really going to give you some headaches.

LAUGHTER There's no easy way.

Elgar said it was about a man

who was always trying to make order out of chaos.

Well, we've got the chaos.

LAUGHTER

Now, all you've got to do is sort out the order.

We're trying to cheat, but I don't think we can. No cheating allowed.

'At the moment, I am trying to relate

'the rubbish that I was playing'

to the performance that we are going to give in two weeks' time.

And it really is daunting.

So, to sum up all those phrases that are like fireworks,

just where you start to go... HE HUMS QUICKLY

It's not. It's... HE HUMS SLOWLY

Yeah? And then these rushing scales that go from the top

of the orchestra strings to the bottom of the strings.

HE LAUGHS MENACINGLY

LAUGHTER

APPLAUSE AND CHEERING

Well done, everybody.

APPLAUSE DROWNS SPEECH

LAUGHTER

O-M-G.

'It's really hard.'

It's almost impossible.

But, you know, that's a good challenge.

So, Stirling. For a first go, how did they do in that masterclass?

They have a lot of work to do.

That's very difficult, that's creatively difficult.

The fast, furious stuff in that last variation

is going to cause them headaches.

It's a kind of nightmare isn't it, Chi-chi?

When I played that movement for the first time in my life,

as a student at the Royal Academy, I thought my career was over

before it had even started. LAUGHTER

Opposing conductors Stephen and Emma take some time out

from rehearsals to catch up and compare notes.

I don't know if your orchestra has changed,

but we've got better at working as a team.

So, I think we are playing a lot tighter.

We're definitely play more in tune.

But, most importantly, we know each other all a bit better.

Going places together... On a bus?

..on a bus, on the train,

that is absolutely amazing. One of our cellists memorably said,

"I didn't realise there were so many people I liked in this orchestra".

It's time to rehearse. Good luck. Good luck.

Is that through gritted teeth?

No! LAUGHTER

Best of luck, Stirling.

Best of luck, North Devon.

Back in the hall and it's North Devon's turn.

What's Paul got in store for them?

They're kind of balanced between

quite reflective and slow pieces and much faster ones.

And then a really, really, really tricky one at the end,

just to give you something to think about.

LAUGHTER

The first one you're going to play is number three.

This guy is called Richard Baxter Townshend.

All of these people lived around this area, you know, in Malvern.

But this man, he was pretty crazy. He wrote books, he was an author.

Very famous books at the time.

But, in this little variation,

what Elgar is trying to portray is his voice.

IN LOW VOICE: And he had a very low voice,

which kept breaking, like...

IN HEIGHTENING VOICE: ..this!

And it would come up like that. And that's all captured in here.

Elgar said it's got to be pert.

I think sort of cheeky and kind of capricious

and a bit naughty, maybe.

MUSIC: Variation III by Elgar

How about North Devon?

Fantastically enthusiastic, energetic orchestra.

They come with a mission.

Technically, musically, sometimes they are a bit bull at a gate.

Sometimes things have been a bit raw and crude.

Devon will be finishing with tricky Variation 11,

which stretches the whole orchestra and spotlights the percussion.

You're going to have a lot of fun with this.

This is about a man called George Robertson Sinclair.

But it's mostly about his dog.

One and two and...

MUSIC: Variation XI by Elgar

PAUL HUMS ALONG

So, we've now heard North Devon having a go

at their variations of Enigma. How did they do?

Yeah, lots of individuals playing really well.

You know, the oboist plays really well.

She needs to pay a bit more attention to the ensemble

with the strings.

The bassoon playing really good.

That really needs a bit of contact.

You know, they've really got to sort out the rhythmical contact

with the front of the orchestra.

ORCHESTRA PLAYS

DRUMS BOOM

LAUGHTER Annie's in town!

Self-taught timpanist Annie Hill has played with Devon for five years.

Enjoy your moment in the Albert Hall with that last note.

All timpanists love that note.

My one final note. Yep.

'The importance of North Devon Sinfonia to me...

'My goodness me. They've been a real tonic.

'I'm lucky that I can really let go when I hit the timps.'

Annie is a full-time carer for her husband, David, who was

diagnosed with MS just six months after they married 16 years ago.

I think the orchestra does give me an escape.

When you stand there and you say,

"For better or worse, richer or poorer, sickness and in health",

I mean those things.

It's not been easy, by any stretch.

It really is devastating and I wouldn't wish this on...

..anybody, really.

Erm...

Sorry.

Following a day of hard musical graft,

a chance to wind down and hang out.

Before we did this competition,

I must confess I didn't know a lot of the people

outside of my woodwind section.

But, because we've been on buses together,

we've been staying at colleges together,

we've actually got to know each other's names.

After a quick dinner,

there's a chance to show off to the competition.

This was the point at which we thought, we all know you.

However, you've not really heard each other play.

So, this is the moment where we just play for each other.

MUSIC BUILDS

ORCHESTRA PLAYS

Devon is showcasing its talents with the theme from Lawrence of Arabia.

ORCHESTRA PLAYS

Oh, I'm going to be brutally honest here then and say that

that horrible part of you is going,

"Just fall on your face, please."

ORCHESTRA PLAYS

They set the bar quite high, haven't they?

So, I think we've got our work cut out for us.

ORCHESTRA PLAYS

I regard them as a serious threat.

MUSIC ENDS

APPLAUSE AND CHEERING

Right, come on then.

LAUGHTER

It is now time for the most literal game of musical chairs

I've ever seen. LAUGHTER

So, if you want to swap...

'Stirling is showing off its ability with a piece called Vltava

'by Czech composer Smetana.'

ORCHESTRA PLAYS

I think probably quite a lot of us in our minds

were trying to figure out,

ooh, you know, what are the good points, what are their bad points?

ORCHESTRA PLAYS

MUSIC SWELLS

There's no point in sizing up the opposition,

cos I can't change what we are.

ORCHESTRA PLAYS QUIETLY

MUSIC ENDS

APPLAUSE AND CHEERING

PIANO PLAYS, ALL TALK

'And, after the performances,

'a chance to fraternise with the enemy.'

MUSIC: Let it Be by The Beatles

# In times of trouble

# Mother Mary comes to me, speaking... #

A lot of new friends being made. There's good...

you know, good mixing between the orchestras.

I'm hearing quite a lot of gossip.

It's good.

Woo!

PIANO PLAYS

MUSIC: Lean on Me by Bill Withers

# Somebody to lean on. #

The morning after the night before.

And, for those able to get out of bed, there's yoga and t'ai chi.

I felt certainly not my age last night.

It was a really nice place to just come and relax

and forget that I was a carer for a while. And just let my hair down.

For those not into yoga,

an opportunity for a more traditional Sunday morning.

A stroll in the Malvern Hills, with a special tour guide,

who just happens to be an available expert on Elgar.

His cottage, Birchwood, is just in there.

It was his favourite place he ever lived, he said, in his whole life.

He wanted to be somewhere that he could just be free

and to be able to look at these hills.

When you're up here, you can understand why.

So, thanks for getting up before breakfast to come and join me.

LAUGHTER

Fantastic.

Paul feels strongly an orchestra that really knows each other

plays better together.

So, an important part of the weekend is the chance to bond.

He's enlisted the help of performance workshop hosts

Neal Biden and Madeleine Moore.

Without letting go of your hands,

untangle yourselves and the first team to do it wins.

LAUGHTER, ALL TALK

Keep going. Don't give up.

As Devon untangle themselves, Stirling work on some visualisation.

Now, I want you to start thinking about a word. One word.

A galvanising word.

Working mum-of-two Suzanne plays in Stirling's string section.

Her kids will be making the trip to see the play-off in London.

Why are you excited about going to the Royal Albert Hall, then? Erm...

Cos we've never been before.

Because it's...it's Royal. It's big.

Mm-hm. You'll be playing in it.

'As a busy working mum,'

I don't make the time for me to practise my violin.

And you're going to cheer well for us?

Yes. Definitely.

It's been once or twice where Paul has asked the second violins

to play something and it's been a particularly tricky passage.

But you don't really feel that great when you know

that you just can't do it.

A word that summarises what it is

that you need to do to get to those goals.

So maybe that's practise, maybe that's confidence.

We're going to put our hand in one-by-one

and we're going to say our word, our galvanising word.

Unfortunately, visualisation isn't really working for Suzanne.

I just kind of felt a bit overwhelmed.

I feel kind of...rather scared about playing in two weeks' time

at the Royal Albert Hall.

The challenge is just so immense.

The pieces are just so hard.

And the whole idea of just how much we have to practise...

And, do you know, I've...

It's so busy, life at home, to get that time in to do the practice

that we need to do.

And, yet, that's just what I need to do.

Continuing to help the orchestras hone their skills for the play-off,

Chi-chi has enlisted the support of some top professional players.

OK, guys. Have a great day. Good luck. Off you go.

The orchestras divide into sections to get to grips with Elgar's score.

Much better.

Double bassist Chi-chi has rolled up her sleeves and is working

with Stirling's lower strings

to help with some particularly fiendish phrases.

One and two. And one...

ORCHESTRA PLAYS

Ha-ha-ha. No. Not that fast.

One, two, one...

ORCHESTRA PLAYS OK. You're never ready.

One, two, one...

ORCHESTRA PLAYS

Yeah, OK. I don't think you all heard me.

We're not going to play any of the quavers for now.

We're just going to play the crotchets.

It's not just the players who are being put through their paces.

Paul also wants to get to grips with the two conductors.

What does the conductor do?

They bring the orchestra together.

They simply organise the time of a rehearsal.

They organise how the orchestra plays together -

how it can play rhythmically together,

how it can play in-tune together.

So, the conductor has to direct, has to lead,

and to encourage the personality of the orchestra to come through.

You say you're fast and fun and brutal.

And sometimes, Stephen, with your...

I'll say quieter approach, if you like.

And both of you do give a lot of confidence to your players.

Well, it's probably one of the biggest contrast between

two different styles of conducting I've ever come across.

There's a very different sound which comes out of your orchestras.

And they are both perfectly valid.

Bum-bum. More, more! ORCHESTRA PLAYS

'If the orchestra were going to describe my style of conducting,

I would like to hope they'd put "fast and fun".

I hope. Yes, it might be a little bit...

forthright sometimes, but, actually, there's no point

all getting together and being all pretty and polite about everything.

It just takes too long.

If you didn't have the chance to give all those instructions

out verbally, and it all had to be in your hands...

Go on, play a little bit.

OK.

It's a very nice flowing beat, but you always beat...

you beat every bar, as if it's a separate event.

Is that bad?

'There is Emma.'

Sometimes she does so much for the musicians that sometimes

she can stand back and let them do the work for themselves.

Listening to you and watching you rehearse,

you could get loads more out of your orchestra, just...

With the stick?

Yes, showing them.

Cos they're the ones making the noise.

And a lot of the time you make a lot of the noise, actually.

Sorry, that sounds very negative,

but if you're telling them, on top of what they're playing,

they're not really concentrating on the sound they're making.

It's kind of boosted my confidence

and also added a little bit more stress into it,

because now I've realised it IS important.

Stephen, try to show this funny rubato, this funny stutter rhythm.

PIANO PLAYS

I think the conductor has a role in helping them

to do their best work on the music,

to make the music work.

So, it's an intensity of sound, but it's not a huge sound.

The actual conducting, the waving of the arms,

I'm not convinced is of huge significance.

You could even show him... PIANO PLAYS

PIANO PLAYS

PIANO PLAYS

Stephen is very thoughtful about the music and quite quiet.

He is thinking about the interpretation.

He doesn't always think about the musicians

and how much information they need.

Yeah. By the time he's got one or two, then he'll know, yeah. Yeah.

'It was really helpful.

'So many little nuggets of advice to take away.

'And also, incredibly encouraging, I thought.'

It's all gone in and hopefully it will percolate out

within the next two weeks to become useful

by that time we get to the Royal Albert Hall.

MUSIC: Ride of the Valkyries by Wagner

The weekend is almost over

and Paul has decided to bring everyone all together now.

We've almost played the whole of this wonderful piece this weekend,

but we never heard probably the most famous variation of all.

And I thought it would be rather a good idea

if you all got together and performed Nimrod.

And we'll do it right now!

One of the country's most beloved orchestral works,

Nimrod is played on many defining national occasions.

MUSIC: Nimrod from Enigma Variations by Elgar

It was so moving.

I had goose bumps all up my arms. It was a really magical moment.

MUSIC BUILDS

MUSIC SWELLS

MUSIC ENDS

I think everybody in the room felt as one.

It was the most incredibly uplifting experience.

But they've got to go up another level to be good enough

to play at Proms in the Park.

I want to hear...

everything you've achieved this weekend.

I want to hear all that.

But about 500 times better.

So, if you could just manage that in the next two weeks,

that would be fabulous. LAUGHTER

Happy rehearsing.

LAUGHTER

APPLAUSE

They might have had a momentary truce, but in just two weeks,

the battle will be back on at the Royal Albert Hall.

Panic is setting in.

But we're game for the challenge, yes.

Now we've got to the final,

we feel like we owe it to ourselves to really practise.

We've already got very detailed plans for the next couple of weeks.

There's not going to be any let-up.

I would hate to say goodbye to any of them.

But I know that in two weeks' time, I'm going to have to do that.

It's going to be very difficult for me,

but I think even harder for them.

The orchestras are barely back home before they are hard at work.

DRUMS ROLL

Agh! That's rubbish.

No. Ignore those ones.

Feeling the pressure, the conductors take a moment to size up the task

with their orchestra leaders, who both just happen to be their spouse.

I don't know what will be going on in North Devon at the moment.

Hopefully, they're not practising at all.

LAUGHTER

As long as we play our best, you don't mind, do you? Yeah.

But what you don't want to do is...

No, I'm not even going to think about that.

I did get properly nervous last night,

thinking about actually having to conduct in the Albert Hall.

I think it is quite nerve-racking.

There's loads of bits that could go wrong.

We have become kind of the masters of small cock-ups.

So I think... Well...

..we just accept them and move on.

It would be very nice, wouldn't it?

Can you imagine doing a big concert at Hyde Park?

It would be totally fantastic.

You only get one chance at it.

I think we've just got to go and go for it.

We've got to absolutely go for it, haven't we?

Well, we will.

OBOE PLAYS

Lynda in Devon is working on her lead part in Variation XI

about the dog, which is particularly poignant to her.

I have two dogs.

Freya is the terrier.

And this young man is Loki.

My dogs are like family to me.

You want it? Do you want it?

You do! You want it.

'You just have that bond.'

And you just want to be with them.

Loki!

I love the Elgar dog variation.

Go on. Whoa!

'This piece is about the dog running around, splashing about.'

Good girl, Freya!

Good girl.

I like the bit where they go... bum-dum-dum-dum,

which I think is like the shake.

VARIATION SECTION PLAYS

500 miles north and Stirling Orchestra

is getting stuck into its Enigma variations.

ORCHESTRA PLAYS

So many things to think about in this.

Do you know one thing that bothers me

about our selection of variations?

I think it's terribly obvious we've got all the good ones.

LAUGHTER

Brilliant.

ORCHESTRA PLAYS

The orchestra's chairman isn't so sure he agrees.

Troyte is just a nasty scrub

for basses and cellos.

It requires a lot of physical bowing

and it's fast and it's furious.

ORCHESTRA PLAYS

81-year-old Robin has been chairman for over a decade,

but he's hoping to step down soon and hand over to someone else.

At the age I'm at, I've decided, no, I've had enough,

so I am giving up this AGM, which will be in September.

When he said, you know, he was going to retire

when the news of this competition came up,

I thought, wow, that really is quite a good way to end your chairmanship.

And I always had this gut feeling that they might win,

so I hope I'm proved right.

To go all the way would be wonderful.

If we can get that last step, yes, that would be absolutely tip-top.

I would quite like to go to the V,

cos I've actually never been to the V

'This final bit is the toughest challenge that we've been set.'

There are now several pieces here and, of course, they take longer.

It will be tough, but there we are.

That's what you expect in the final.

OK. It's good to know roughly how it goes, but there's

an awful lot of detailed... LAUGHTER

..detailed work that needs to go in, you know?

'We've just played'

Troyte, number seven, which...

Do you know? It's so fast.

But it just gets my heart going so fast as well.

I will be practising eight or nine hours a day.

That's an absolute lie, but...

I'll have to do something.

I think, actually, Stirling could win this.

It's the kind of thing that we can play well.

Whether we will play it well in the context of the Albert Hall

is a whole different issue.

It's Devon's first rehearsal.

Emma is working on their trickiest variation, number 11 - the dog.

Can I have Hugo and Annie, please, from the last four bars?

Are you ready?

TRIANGLE CHIMES, DRUMS ROLL

16-year-old student Hugo

has a crucial role to play in this variation.

'I play drums and piano,'

but I'm on triangle for the...

What do you call it?

HE CLICKS Final.

So, Hugo, you're clear that you go ticky on the beat.

'That was my first time playing triangle.'

But, surprisingly, it wasn't that hard to pick up.

But, you know, if Elgar didn't want them in there,

they wouldn't be there, so...

..they're going to be there.

TRIANGLE CHIMES, DRUMS ROLL

I don't own a triangle.

I'm just about to play my ladder as practice for the big night.

Er, I just got two 50ps from my mum, so...

..I'm sorted.

LADDER CLINKS

'No. Didn't think it was ever going to happen'

that Hugo would be playing at the Royal Albert Hall.

Cheers(!)

LADDER CLINKS

Then it's loud. LADDER CLINKS

Yeah, that's pretty much it. That's my...that's my big role.

What was it? Four taps or five?

Five.

15.

LADDER CLINKS

Oh, immensely proud of him. You couldn't be...

I mean, look at him.

Oh, you!

Is this where I kiss him? HUGO MURMURS

Part of any performance is the look.

And Annie's decided to splash out.

All I normally wear is trousers and a T-shirt, cos nobody looks at me.

But I thought, this is such a special occasion that...

a nice dress... Push the boat out. Yeah, let's do it.

So, I brought Sheila along just to...

To give her guidance and make sure she doesn't go grannyish.

Yeah, absolutely.

What are you saying?

Good morning. If I said concert black dress... OK.

..would you know what I mean? Something full-length?

That's nice. That's a possibility.

That's nice, too.

Yeah, classy.

Turn round. Give us a twirl.

SHEILA LAUGHS

And, because I've got arm movements...

Yeah. Well, I like it.

After working with the conductors in Malvern, Paul felt they could

each do with some particular advice.

Hi, Emma. Hello.

So, he sent performance coach Alma Sheehan to meet Emma in Devon

and Chi-chi to Scotland to work with Stephen.

'Paul identified that, sometimes,'

Stephen leaves a little bit too much to the imagination,

with the gestures that he gives to the orchestra.

When you're ready, I'm going to ask you to conduct the orchestra

with no arms.

Alma helps conductors focus their communication skills

and Paul wants Emma to speak less.

So, what do you do? That's it.

Yeah. You're off now.

'I was trying to get Emma to be less verbal in her communication'.

It made me realise that, facially, I'm dull as dishwater.

How did that feel?

Horrid. Yeah?

Yeah. One thing.

I'm doing all the dynamics, I'm not getting them from you.

Mm-hm. OK. So I need a little bit more information.

It was quite revealing, actually,

because he does leave a lot to interpretation.

No, nope.

No, I didn't get that. Your gesture went too small.

OK. When you're ready.

Alma got me to do a variety of things.

I quite liked the walking-on one.

I was there in the Albert Hall in my head.

I'd say go even further with the bows.

No, I always do a little one,

because I don't want to look ridiculous.

That's it. There you are. You put your finger on it.

So many people say to me,

"Oh, I don't want to look arrogant, I don't want to look..." Yeah.

Confidence isn't arrogance. I've been saying that all my life.

Well, there you are. I'm telling you again.

I would probably give three and one... OK. So...

But... OK, but let's have a real precision on one.

Yeah, on the three as well, yeah? OK. Let's try that.

I think it's quite important to get him a little bit uncomfortable.

I don't know what... I don't know what I'm doing now.

Er, one...

And, remember, you're there to open possibilities to all those people.

'I've got one rehearsal left. I've got one chance to practise that.

'And that's tonight.'

But it's my job to be so...

bodily impressive that they look at me.

DOUBLE BASS PLAYS

Yeah. Yeah?

That's better. I like... I'm liking that.

To have her bringing all of that experience,

and bringing a player's perspective as well,

I think is really fantastic.

With the Albert Hall a couple of days away,

each orchestra finds themselves at their final rehearsals.

Stephen is fine tuning Stirling's interpretation.

We need to get a little more character into this.

And Emma is trying to push Devon on the tempo.

ORCHESTRA PLAYS

MUSIC ENDS No, no, no, no!

Don't you dare slow us down when I'm rushing it...deliberately.

LAUGHTER

ORCHESTRA PLAYS

MUSIC ENDS

Who's lingering? LAUGHTER

Who was lingering?

ORCHESTRA PLAYS

No, you are out, I'm afraid.

Come on. Let's try again.

Cellos and basses, bassoons, it actually felt to me as though

you weren't quite on the line.

ORCHESTRA TUNES

It's not very well in tune. I do hope you won't play it like that.

Go again!

The most important thing, with all of this...

is to enjoy it.

OK, come on, we can do this! Hm!

I do want us to win it.

SCATTERED LAUGHTER

But...

I much more want us to have a lovely time.

All rehearsals over and it's time to set off for the big day in London.

ALL TALK

I'm definitely more nervous about playing in the Royal Albert Hall

than I was on my wedding day.

I had not a drop of nerves that day.

But this, no, I've really got the collywobbles.

Bye.

'Mine is such an exposed part and if I hit it in the wrong place,'

then everybody will know about it.

So, here we are. We've made it here to the Albert Hall. This is it.

The big day, it's the final today. One of them will win.

First on the scene is the North Devon Sinfonia.

It seems, even after playing at Maida Vale,

and the home of Manchester's Halle,

there is still plenty of room to be awed.

This is a once-in-a-lifetime thing.

For once, I'm speechless.

Not far behind are the Stirling Orchestra,

who are equally excited.

It's bigger, but more amazing. Just spectacular, beautiful.

Oh, lovely...everything.

To see who goes first, Chi-chi tosses a coin for the conductors.

Heads.

I think I'll choose for Stirling Orchestra to play second.

Supporting the orchestras are an audience of friends and family,

who have travelled from far and wide to cheer them on.

As Devon prepares to take to the legendary stage...

it's clear the nerves are starting to show.

'I've got a few tingles in my belly'.

But, you know, I'm ready.

All we can do is our best now

and make sure that we get emotion in it.

So, the three letters today are NDS.

Never doubt success.

ALL: Oh!

Big, massive, mental group hug and just lay it out.

APPLAUSE AND CHEERING

So, North Devon Sinfonia...

Devon's spirit is always really on fire.

They're quite unpredictable.

We have seen them conquer different challenges

and deal with different difficulties.

Sometimes...not quite hitting the target,

but always with this incredible spirit.

Listening with a keen ear are rivals Stirling Orchestra.

THEY TALK

Good luck. Stay with me.

APPLAUSE

Hello, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the grand final

of Altogether Now, The Great Orchestra Challenge.

And now, to conduct the North Devon Sinfonia,

please welcome Emma Kent.

APPLAUSE

CHEERING

Devon start off with Variation III,

about Elgar's friend with a breaking voice.

ORCHESTRA PLAYS

I've really encouraged Emma to try to leave

a lot of the music-making to her musicians,

not to always tell them what she wants,

to let them come forward with their talent,

with their own feelings, with their own emotional responses.

And sometimes you have to step back a little bit,

as a conductor, to allow that to happen.

For their last variation, Devon play tricky number 11, about the dog.

ORCHESTRA PLAYS

MUSIC ENDS

APPLAUSE AND CHEERING

Well done. Thank you.

Well, North Devon Sinfonia, sometimes they were not quite together.

The wind were slightly pushing ahead.

Emma was very calm with them, which was really good for them.

And good for her that she kept the whole thing

in a very beautiful, musical way. it was really expressive.

Annie did a great job.

I was really pleased.

Stirling are going to have to really play well to keep up with that,

because I actually, to be honest,

I have not heard Devon play as well as that, ever, in this contest.

As an orchestra, I don't think we could have played any better.

What a thrill. I'm buzzing!

It might not be exactly what Elgar wrote in his score,

but you could sell that on the streets and people would buy the feeling it creates.

It's just wonderful.

Good luck. Have a great time.

Second to perform on the world-famous stage is Stirling Orchestra.

I woke up feeling pretty nervous.

Quite what it will feel to step out to the front of the stage,

I'm not quite sure.

This is my kind of last act as chairman

and that's a very good last act, to be playing in the Royal Albert Hall.

That is a little memory which will stay with what is left of my life.

Thank you!

Stirling Orchestra, they have risen to the occasion time and time again.

Stirling are very dependable, they have great qualities as an orchestra.

They're very together.

Sometimes we see that fantastic joy that they have.

We see it in their faces, we hear it in their playing.

Sometimes it's not quite there.

I've looked at the music for their movement and it's fiendish!

APPLAUSE

To conduct the Stirling Orchestra in their Enigma Variations,

the conductor of the Stirling Orchestra, Stephen Broad.

APPLAUSE

Stirling start off with Variation 1, about Alice, Elgar's wife.

Stephen's a really fine conductor.

I've enjoyed so much what he's done.

He really thinks a lot about the music.

I've talked to Stephen a little bit about how much

he can actually get into his gesture,

how much he can ask - in detail, in precision - from the orchestra.

He understands that really well

and every conductor will express that in a different way physically.

But the most important thing is that he's done that so that THEY have got

the message and THEY can let the music flow through.

Next, Stirling perform Variation 7,

about Elgar's friend, Troyte.

There was a few bits that I fluffed.

I don't know what happened.

There were some nerves to begin with and, you know,

that affected a little bit of the detail, but I enjoyed that so much.

I can't...I can't really say how much I enjoyed it.

It was just wonderful.

So have we done enough to impress Paul? Um, you know...

I really don't know, but we couldn't have done any more.

Stirling did a really good job of picking out

so many of those little characters, the little colours and ideas.

They got loads of it.

Some of it was missing but, you know, there's such a lot to find.

I thought they did a really good job.

It's a very, very brave performance.

Paul must now make his decision -

only one orchestra can win.

Let's start with North Devon Sinfonia.

What for me was very important was how well they'd improved,

certainly from even when we saw them in Malvern.

I thought they did really well.

They've really addressed all of the potential issues.

What didn't they get right?

Sometimes the violins, they could have just allowed themselves

to project a bit more and then it would have REALLY put the icing on the cake.

So then we heard Stirling.

Really good work in lots of places.

It felt less assured when they got on the stage.

The difficult fast stuff they had to play, they were really on it, weren't they?

And I really enjoyed seeing them being confident

with that very, very fast Variation.

You know, they were really playing on the scales.

I think they did a great job.

As a group, they felt a bit...

..like they were shallow-breathing in the music,

when you needed to really get deep. Yeah.

If we won this, well, this would be a major celebration

for me and obviously for the orchestra as well.

So, yes, it would be a good note to go out on.

I don't know how he's going to choose.

Have you made your mind up?

HE SIGHS

This is, like, the worst moment possible, because we're just

waiting for the result.

We've just heard that they've made the decision,

that Paul is ready to announce his favourite orchestra and we're, like,

I feel a bit sick, if I'm honest!

I don't want to send anybody away from this.

I want to remember this particular day more than anything.

It's been amazing.

But...

LAUGHTER

The orchestra that consistently and most engagingly

and with the most excitement and passion, the one that I feel

in my gut deserves to go through to play in Proms In The Park...

..is...

..the North Devon Sinfonia.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

In the end, I had to give it to Devon.

They were really there, in the moment.

They were just that step MORE exciting and more thrilling and more colourful,

right from the word go.

It was just those words - North Devon Sinfonia.

When he said North Devon Sinfonia, I was just like, "Oh, my God!"

Yeah, it's just lovely and everyone's just in tears.

It's a wonderful, wonderful thing.

It's just amazing

seeing everybody here just now and the whole experience of playing

in the Albert Hall probably makes the experience of the result

a bit less, because that glow from playing in the Hall is

quite, quite overwhelming, actually.

Yeah, we are disappointed that we didn't get through, but it's

just been...we're just overwhelmed,

because we've had such a lovely journey together.

It sounds cheesy but it's true.

I'm not saying that we were strangers before, but this has been more of a togetherness thing.

Yeah, we'll be all right.

We'll be OK once we get over the few tears and things!

So this contest has given me the freedom to actually

allow myself to be me again.

It's the last day of the Proms.

Despite the weather, thousands have flocked to Hyde Park,

eager to claim their premium spots.

Backstage, the nerves are setting in.

I just hope they like us.

And I hope that they enjoy our performance.

You can just feel there's this energy coursing through the room at the moment.

We're never usually this nervous. This is nerve-racking.

It's the kind of thing you dream of and then all of a sudden

you're here and it's real!

They do look lovely with all their colours.

It's a bucket-list item ticked off, but this is bucket-list-extra,

I think, isn't it?

Ready?

This is insane!

MC: Cue orchestra, please.

With the North Devon Sinfonia, I found something really special.

They play with the devotion, with the enthusiasm,

and I think they're a great shining example of how wonderful

amateur orchestral playing is in this country.

I wonder if we can see where anyone is.

WOLF-WHISTLING

Ah, we're getting whistled!

Slightly worried about my skirt blowing up, that's the only problem.

Oh, is that B-flat? Hello. You're cutting it fine.

Hello. Don't want to start without you! Oh, my God! Look at this. I know. Oh, my God!

MC: Good afternoon, everyone.

Would you please welcome to the Proms In The Park stage - Katie Derham.

APPLAUSE

Hello, ladies and gentlemen.

Wonderful for me to be standing on stage with these amazing musicians.

This was the prize - YOU, effectively, are the prize.

So I am very proud to present the North Devon Sinfonia.

Their wonderful conductor - Emma Kent.

APPLAUSE

Eyes up, and...

They are the most lovely bunch of individuals.

There are also eclectic and different

and I love every single one of them.

I'm so proud of North Devon.

We couldn't have ever imagined that this would happen to our orchestra.

APPLAUSE

They sum up amateur orchestra- making in Britain. Everybody's welcome,

everyone's accepted and we're just all in it for the love.