Citi The Choir

-Two, three, and... Are you going to be the best choir?

-ALL: Yeah!

-Come on, then.

Choirmaster Gareth Malone wants to help Britain's workers

find their voice.

This is Gareth Malone here.

Now, I'm here to start a choir.

Are you interested in joining a choir?

Maybe, yeah.

In search of hidden talent, he's creating choirs

in five of Britain's biggest workplaces.

I would like you to be in the choir, please.

SHE SQUEALS

Whoa!

Hey!

This proves that bankers can rock.

If you were ever going to have a firefighting calendar,

we've got them in the choir.

As they compete to be this year's best workplace choir,

Gareth's demanding musical excellence.

We are going to sing real music.

Crescendo, diminuendo.

SINGING

HE WHIMPERS

# ALL: Where you going to run to? #

If they're going to do justice to music,

it's got to just pour out of them.

# ALL: Power to the Lord! #

Singing brings people together spiritually, socially. It's vital.

It's vital.

I have to tap into that part of my mind where all those horrible

things that I see at work are kept.

You've got to step up one notch.

The choirs will face huge public audiences...

-The appetite to win is now on.

-Bricking it at the moment.

..and be judged by three world-class musicians.

You are never together.

Wonderful, wonderful tuning.

Judgment day is coming.

This means I will sing for the rest of my life.

Other than get married, it is one of the best experiences of my life.

The workplace choir of the year is...

This programme contains some strong language

I think when I was young, I thought I'd work somewhere like this.

It feels like the future.

Gareth is on his way to London's financial district to start

a new workplace choir.

The whole place just reeks of money.

All the buildings are expensive, everybody is dressed in a suit.

He's going to one of the world's biggest investment banks.

There is so much in the papers about evil bankers bringing

the country to their knees and I'm quite interested to meet

these people and see what they're really like.

I'm looking forward to some excellent lunches.

Cigars, the whole works.

-Good morning. I'm Gareth.

-My name's Tanya. Nice to meet you.

-Hello.

-I'm here to start a choir.

-Lovely.

You'll be going through the turnstiles at the end for security.

It's quite intimidating.

Citi has over a quarter of a million employees worldwide,

of which 9,000 are based in the UK.

Workers here have everything

they need to keep them going 24 hours a day.

Gyms, restaurants, salons and health clinics

mean the bankers never have to leave the tower.

Security is paramount because, globally, the bank moves

over £2 trillion around the world every day.

It's high-risk.

Up in the security office is 22-year-old Yana, who has been

part of the bank's security team for a year, and her passion is music.

-Morning.

-Hi. Good morning. This is your card.

-Oh, that...

I look like a suspected terrorist in that.

I have to say it's not a great picture.

-Do you do a lot of singing?

-Yeah, I do.

-What sort of things do you sing?

-A mixture of everything, really.

-Could you give me a few notes?

Yeah, sure.

# Take a little time

# To hold yourself

# Take a little time to feel around. #

Ooh. God.

Wow. Nice to meet you, Yana. I'll see you at your audition.

Thank you. Bye.

In less than two months,

22 employees will be singing in front of three world-class judges...

Oh, my gosh.

..so Gareth's combing all 42 floors of the tower

for the best singers in the organisation.

BEEPING

Even with his pass in hand, getting to meet people is proving tricky.

I have a pass but it doesn't actually get me

onto any of the floors.

Every single floor here has a different function

and you can't go from one place to the next.

Every time you try and go through another door within the building,

there is a machine. You press, beep, the doors open or don't open.

Hello?

Trying to form a choir in a place like this is incredibly difficult.

I've got into easier places, I have to say.

Everyone says it's easier to go

and see the Queen than it is to come in here.

I think it is, actually.

Eventually, Gareth makes it to the beating heart of the bank -

the trading floor, where millions of pounds' worth

of trades are executed every day on behalf of the bank's clients.

-Are you interested in joining a choir?

-I'm a terrible singer.

-What are you doing, may I ask?

-I trade high-yield bonds and CDS.

Are we talking a lot of money?

Let's say today I've probably traded 50, 60 million of bonds.

50, 60 million?

-Yeah.

-Well done. That's an excellent day's work. My God.

Very tense in here.

People, just before they've even got to lunchtime,

dealing in 50, 60 million.

I'm just... I'm speechless.

Are you... Are you on the phone?

-No, I'm not.

-Hello. Are you interested in joining a choir?

I think I'm going to audition, yeah.

Further up the trading floor, Gareth meets trader Alex Magliaro.

Could you give me a few notes?

# Luck be a lady tonight. #

My colleagues are laughing at me.

# Luck, if you've ever been a lady to begin with

# Luck, be a lady tonight. #

-It's not usual for people to be singing here.

-No, it's not.

And that's... This is an audition out of the middle of nowhere.

Well done, Alex. Thank you. Lovely to meet you.

His pass may not grant Gareth access...

Hello, hi. I'm Gareth Malone, the choirmaster.

.. but executive PA Anne is on hand to let him

onto the 42nd floor to meet the bosses.

-Knock, knock. Hello. I'm Gareth Malone.

-Gareth, hi.

-Maurice Thompson.

-Good to meet you. You're in charge, are you?

-Are you the top man here?

-I'm responsible for the UK.

James is responsible for our banking business in Europe, Middle East

and Africa. Jenna's responsible for our communications business.

I do struggle to imagine what sort of numbers you're dealing with here.

Through the pipes of Citigroup every day,

-pass trillions of dollars of cash.

-How many zeros is that?

So, a trillion is... So, you've got 1,000 is three.

Then you've got a million is six. Then you've got a billion is nine.

-And then it's another three, so it's a lot.

-12.

-A trillion is 12...

-JENNA:

-12 zeros.

-Did your maths run out there? Oh, dear, how worrying.

-That's a lot of zeros.

-It's a lot of zeros.

-All I know is from the press.

You guys have a fairly bad reputation.

Um...

We are very proud of the people that work here and of our industry.

It's going through a period of recalibration and change

for very good reason but it's one of the UK's great industries.

-Do any of you sing?

-We all sing.

-No, I don't sing.

-You don't sing?

-I don't sing.

-JAMES:

-I sing in church.

-You sing in church?

-Yes.

-You're going to audition?

I'll have a try. I'm not holding out much hope.

Gareth has been to every floor of the tower,

broadcasting news of the auditions, and now the time has come.

I wonder if I'll see a lot of singers who are just

mathematical singers. Nobody wants a mathematical singer, do they?

James, you're an important man around here.

-You can have a seat on the front. Hello.

-ALL: Hello.

This is your audition. I'm looking for a blend of voices.

I'm looking for people with a musical ear.

I hope that this will be the voice of Citibank

and the people will see this choir and get a sense of who

you are as human beings and not just a corporation.

Gareth's chosen a cautionary cockney rhyme.

Let's hear your singing. David.

First is David Poole, the head of private banking.

We look after a third of the Forbes billionaires around the world

-so we...

-A third of the Forbes billionaires?

And to be a client coming through the door,

you have to have 25 million of net worth.

Yeah, I'm almost there(!) Here we go.

# Up and down the City Road

# In and out the Eagle

# That's the way the money goes

# Pop! goes the weasel. #

-Do you sing tenor?

-I don't know. You should know that.

-You may sit down. Thank you very much. Ashley.

-Aisling.

What do you do, Aisling?

I'm an accountant in the finance department.

-So you know what everyone earns?

-I know what everyone gets.

HE MOUTHS

LAUGHTER

-HE MOUTHS

-I'll look it up.

Auditionees from every department and from the 40 nationalities

working in the bank flood in over two days.

# That's the way the money goes

# Pop! goes the weasel. #

It's Julie Andrews.

# Doe, a deer! #

-What do you do, Jill?

-I'm a PA.

I spend most of my time arranging visas.

-I'm a lawyer.

-A lawyer?

-Yes.

# Up and down the city road

# In and out the eagle... #

-Vincent, hello.

-Hello.

-What do you do?

-I'm a cleaner.

HE SINGS IN FRENCH TO TUNE OF "Pop! Goes The Weasel"

Pourquoi pas?

APPLAUSE

HE SINGS TUNEFULLY IN OWN LANGUAGE

I just sort of don't really

want to ask you to sing Up And Down The City Road.

# ALL: Ah, ah, ah, ah Staying alive, staying alive. #

Amazing.

Round of applause.

-Hello, Yana.

-Hello.

-You made this fine thing, did you not?

-Yes.

# Up and down the City Road

# In and out the Eagle

# That's the way the money goes

# Pop! Goes the eagle. #

-The weasel goes pop.

-The weasel.

-Sorry. I don't know this, sorry.

-The Eagle is the pub.

'The most interesting thing I've found'

is that these are ordinary people.

Receptionists, and assistants, and people who are doing admin,

and cleaners, and then you have this exceptional few

who are essentially making the economy run.

And that's it.

After hearing 150 versions of Pop! Goes The Weasel,

the auditions are finally over.

Let me out. Let me out.

There's no air. There is no sound from the outside world. It's very...

I just want to get out.

'I didn't think I'd be as nervous as I was.'

Then when I actually sang, it just came out so it was fine.

'It went well

'and it was also good to learn a bit about what everyone else does.'

There's many roles in this place.

Fingers crossed.

The contest allows choirs of up to 24 singers and Gareth wants to

ensure they reflect the character of each company.

There's a good mix here.

I've got a cleaner, and then I've got the head of investment banking.

I think they're going to be much more classical

than the other choirs, which will be all very well

if they're singing classical music.

They might struggle with popular repertoire.

I've whittled down to this many and it has been really difficult.

To create a sound that blends well, he's looking for a balanced

mix of basses, tenors, alto and soprano voices.

That's it. Citi Choir.

Today, the bank's choir is due to meet for the very first time.

-NEWS REPORTER:

-'Anti-capitalist protests are continuing

'in central London.'

'Today was billed as a carnival against capitalism,

'protesters planning a week of demonstrations in London...'

It's aimed at these guys.

It's the third least popular occupation

after politicians and estate agents.

Sometimes there is a hesitance to say I work for a large bank

because of the negative things that people associate with bankers

and being in a bank.

You know, there is a whole range of people here,

and very few people are those

huge earners that you read about in the press.

It's such an ivory tower, this place.

There's two layers of really thick glass between me

and the demonstration.

Frankly, you could carry on with your job

and not even know it was here.

But it looks pretty peaceful.

Nonetheless, you're aware that this sort of thing can kick off.

Like everyone else in the bank,

Gareth must try to go about his business despite the protest outside.

So he's meeting his newly formed choir in the foyer.

-Hello!

-Hey!

-Hi, everyone. Shall we go and get on with our first rehearsal?

-Let's.

Follow me.

Shall we all see if we can get into one? It does say 21 people in there.

Pack 'em in. Can I get my whole choir in a lift? Yes! We are all in.

Excuse me. Room for a small one? Floor 20, please. Going up.

LAUGHTER

There's nobody in there. Hello? Thank you.

The 22-strong choir is made up of 11 nationalities.

Gareth has less than two months to prepare them to face the judges.

It's time for me to invest in your future as a choir.

In for a penny, in for a pound.

I would like to find a song that represents Citi. Any suggestions?

We could have Save Me, but that's probably about five years too late.

Do you know that?

# Save, save... #

HE PLAYS: "Save Me" by Queen

-#

-FALSETTO:

-Started off so well

# Why am I singing that high? #

LAUGHTER

We Built This City.

# We built this city!

# ALL: We built this city on rock'n'roll! #

Let me get the words up. All right.

We just wanna dance here

Someone sold the stage

They call us irresponsible

Write us off the page.

That's probably not good, that line.

LAUGHTER

Of course they do that. Everybody does that. It's not true, is it?

Do we want to draw attention to the fact...?

People do think that bankers have been irresponsible.

Are you that kind of bank?

Responsible finance is what it's all about.

It might be a good message for people.

-Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word.

-Ooh!

How does it go?

# ALL: What do I say when it's all over?

# Sorry seems to be the hardest word. #

Is it actually your fault, though?

We might regret it but sorry's not a good word.

Sorry is genuinely the hardest word to say, isn't it?

Man In The Mirror by Michael Jackson.

# I'm starting with the...

# Gonna make a change. #

Can we sing it?

# ALL: No message could have been any clearer

# If you wanna make the world a better place

# Take a look at yourself and make the change. #

# You're gonna lose your...

-#

-HE SCREECHES:

-Your mind! #

-LAUGHTER

Ow!

Man In The Mirror, actually, that's quite good cos

I mean, what does that say about your business?

We're taking a good look at ourselves.

Yeah, it depends how serious you want to be.

Do you want people to see that, hey, bankers can be fun?

There was a demonstration outside.

Do you want to say, "We're listening to that?"

I think sometimes it's nice to feel some pride in what we do.

A lot of the time you feel a bit embarrassed telling people

what you do because you're worried about what people's

-perceptions of you are going to be.

-You don't say...

What would you say if we met at a party? What would you say you did?

I'd say, "I work in diversity and HR."

-Before you'd say, "I work for a bank?"

-Mm.

-OK.

Do you think We Built This City

could come across as being cocky as well?

I...

-MURMURING

-I like it. It's on the short list.

It feels like we're hovering around a decision.

Hands up for We Built This City by Starship.

OK, majority rules.

I'm going to go and print the words off

then we're going to come back and we're going to arrange it.

Go and take a break. Thank you very much.

# ALL: Marconi plays the mambo

# Listen to the radio. #

They've chosen a song.

It's really good fun but I'm just worried that that's not

really what they need to be doing as an organisation.

Other organisations in this contest are singing really upbeat songs

because they've had a shocking time

as a direct result of the financial crisis.

I'm ready.

# ALL: We built this city on rock'n'roll. #

I did print off Man In The Mirror.

I've got two songs that do two very different things.

I think your concern about it being arrogant is something to just

be really careful about.

There is We Built This City and there is Man In The Mirror.

People's perception of banking is real.

There'll be a lot of interest in what your company chooses to sing.

Let's do Starship straightaway.

# ALL: Say you don't know me

# Or recognise my face

# Say you don't care who goes to...

# That kind of place

# ALL: Knee-deep in the hoopla

# Sinking in your fight

# Too many runaways

# Eating up the night. #

OK, Man In The Mirror, let's sing it. Stand up. Here we go.

One, two, three, four.

# I'm gonna make a change

-# For once in my... #

-Hold it on.

# ..life

# It's gonna feel real good

# Gonna make a difference

# Gonna make it right

# A summer disregard

# A broken bottle top

# And a one-man soul

# They follow each other on the wind, you know

# Cos they got nowhere to go

# That's why I want you to know. #

Let's hold that there. Have a seat. Well done. That sounded pretty good.

It's much more interesting, Man In The Mirror.

-I think we sung it better.

-I think we should re-vote.

-Yeah, re-vote.

OK, all those in favour of Michael Jackson. OK.

We're so fickle!

You are so fickle.

'I mean, it's actually taken some courage for me

'and say to them as bankers,'

"You know what? Everyone hates you. Everyone's angry.

' "You need to acknowledge that in your song choice." '

So, one of the things that I've really noticed about your

organisation is that you have pretty much everything that you need.

You can go to the gym, you've got great food on-site. In fact,

there is no reason ever to leave.

The one thing I haven't been able to find is a bar.

I suggest we all leave the building and go and have a drink.

-Does that sound all right?

-MURMURS OF ASSENT

Follow me. Come on.

I mean, I'd like to see it as

-I helped you to make the right decision.

-No, I agree.

It is very unusual to get out of the bank before six o'clock

in the evening so this is a very refreshing afternoon.

It's sort of difficult trying to not look at your phone

cos you're always looking to see if someone's e-mailed you.

I think there's great potential here and it's nice seeing them

get to know each other. It's nice to see them let their hair down a bit.

As much as they do.

That's them with their hair let down.

I've got to look out my Michael Jackson tape

because I don't know...

-Tape?

-Man In The Mirror.

-Tape?

-Yeah, the cassette thing.

-Cheers.

ALL: Cheers!

A very good start, very strong start. Well done, everyone.

-Again.

-# They follow each other on the...#

Between his rehearsals,

Gareth's enlisted a local choirmaster to help with their training.

Start note, pitching wise, was inaccurate.

And on top of their 60 hour working week, the bankers are investing

yet more hours in their own choral crash courses.

We're doing music theory classes, we'll be doing music interpretation.

We do get really panicked when we see semi-quavers, in particular.

This is the crotchet.

There are people who need a lot of support in order just to get

up to a basic level of knowing what a piece of music is

and how to navigate their way around it.

Crotchet and a minim.

I will be sick to the back teeth

if we're first ones to be eliminated.

I think the choir's taking this very seriously

and if we win the competition, that's kind of why we're in it,

to win it.

Three days later, and Gareth is back at the bank.

This afternoon will be the choir's second rehearsal.

But, first, Gareth is heading back to the engine room of the operation.

The trading floor.

I don't think you have to be a special kind of person

to be a trader, but I think you have to have something

in order to want to come and work here everyday.

32-year-old Alex has been a bond salesman for four years.

He's the middleman selling loans.

There's times where I'll be juggling five or six different trades

all at the same time.

I've got some person on the IB, one person on the phone,

12 hours on the desk.

Since the crash five years ago,

115,000 employees worldwide have lost their jobs.

I think this year, we've gone through

three rounds of redundancies.

It just keeps shrinking and shrinking and shrinking,

and so it just makes the intensity more.

It's like I need to keep my job.

I try not to think about it.

Morning, Alex. Are you in the middle of a deal?

No, not at the moment.

-Good, how are you doing?

-Good, how you doing? Great.

Yeah, I've come to learn how to be a trader.

We're talking fairly large amounts of money?

Yeah, we're talking millions.

Sometimes it can be up into the billions.

-Going through your computer?

-Going through this computer.

It's like an advanced version of Facebook.

There's not as much people talking about their feelings.

-It's more numbers.

-I think we could work together and do some of this.

-Put that on. Chop, chop.

-Hello. Hi.

It is one of Alex's associates looking for a loan.

Hi there, how you doing? Nokia, six, three quarters, 19.

The traders do up to 20 deals like this every day.

Yeah, very much a new joiner to the desk. Indeed.

Thanks very much. Bye.

-Who was that?

-That was Zavier.

-He asked for a...?

-Nokia, six, three quarters, 19.

-OK.

-How much are we talking about for this deal?

-Two million euros.

My palms are actually sweating.

Yell over to Lowy. There's no running.

-I'm embarrassed.

-What?

-Chris?

-Yeah.

Nokia, six and three quarters, 19?

104, three quarters, 105.

-Gareth has to see if the offer's enough to seal the deal.

-All right.

My heart is pounding there, seriously. It's very exciting.

Yeah, Gareth, come on!

Hey, Zavier, hello there. I've got 104 and three quarters to 105.

Oh, well. Apologies. Thanks, bye.

What a complete waste of time that was.

I almost dealed two million euros.

-OK. It's high octane, isn't it?

-Yeah.

-Does your heart pound all day?

-Yeah, basically.

Sometimes you're more stressed cos I got to get

-to choir rehearsal and I don't have time for this.

-Sorry.

Choir's stressing you out.

-Hello.

-ALL:

-Hello.

The wandering choirmaster returns.

-How do you sound as a choir? How do you rate yourselves?

-Amazing.

Amazing? Are we a bit thin on the ground?

One, two, three, four, five... Missing James.

-He's in Istanbul sorting out Turkey.

-Sorting out Turkey.

Somebody needs to. Just the man for the job, I'm sure.

Being in a rehearsal could cost them millions of pounds. It's ridiculous.

Pop your sheets down, stand up, let's get ready to sing.

Two, three, and...

# I'm gonna make a change

# For once in my life

# See the kids in the street with not enough to eat

# Who am I to be blind Pretending not to see their needs? #

Good. OK. Well done.

I hear great potential, so let's try and work through it, shall we?

One, two, three. And...

# I'm starting with the man in the mirror... #

And one...

# I'm asking him to change his ways... #

And...

-# And no message could have been any clearer... #

-Energy!

# If you wanna make the world a better place

# Take a look at yourself and make a change

# Na-na-naa, na-na-naa Na-naa, na-naaa. #

OK, well done. Have a seat.

I think, really, what you need is an audience.

So we are going to go and have our first performance right now.

ALL EXCLAIM

-Yes, right now.

-Where?

-Follow me, let's go.

The banking choir is about to sing in public for the very first time.

And the location couldn't be more significant.

Just last week, there was a big demonstration against bankers right here,

and we're going to be singing about change, and the changes they say

have happened in their industry, so it seems absolutely appropriate.

They are a bit nervous.

We had to learn the words quite quickly.

I'd never heard it before, which is a deep admission of guilt.

Hitting some of our notes is quite hard.

But we've got a couple of good people in our section

and we just try to go along with them.

# I'm gonna make a change

# For once in my life

# It's gonna feel real good

# Gonna make a difference

# Gonna make it right

# As I turn up the collar on my favourite winter coat

# This wind is blowing my mind

# See the kids in the street

# With not enough to eat

# Who am I to be blind Pretending not to see their needs?

# A summer's disregard

# A broken bottle top

# And a one man's soul

# They follow each other on the wind, you know

# Cos they got no place to go

# That's why I want you to know

# I'm starting with the man in the mirror

# I'm asking him to change his ways

# And no message could have been any clearer

# If you wanna make the world a better place

# Take a look at yourself and make a...

# Change

# Na-na-naa, na-na-naa Na-naa, na-naaa

# Mmmmm. #

APPLAUSE

It was absolutely brilliant. Such a liberating experience. I'm so happy.

It was the first performance.

It eased the pressure a bit as well. I felt that, anyway.

To hear them appreciating us singing, that's awesome.

-You feel the energy. Exactly.

-It was really natural.

I know we are not natural, but that felt really good.

You are only slightly conscious you're competing

with the sound of coffee cups and aeroplanes

and ticker tapes from the stock exchange.

Apart from that, I think we made a good sound, I think.

I loved how much you were enjoying it.

Some of you were just starting to loosen up a bit.

Um... It doesn't feel like one choir.

It feels like about five different choirs.

You are a multinational company

with all sorts of different singers in here,

and we've got to find a way to bring that together.

It was almost there. At least we're off, aren't we?

We're up and running. Give yourselves a round of applause.

There's lots of enjoyment going on in the choir, lots of fun,

lots of people getting into it.

But not absolutely coming together.

Of all the choirs I've worked with,

this is the most spread out in terms of sound. They are really polarised.

You've got some fantastic gospel voices

and some fantastic choral voices,

and they are a little bit opposed at the moment,

and I want them to come together.

With their first public performance a useful dress rehearsal,

Gareth is back to raise the bar and unite the many voices in the choir.

-Check my pass?

-Yes.

-On duty is security manager and soprano Yana.

I was very interested in your audition.

-Have you been in a choir before?

-Yes, I have.

-I went to a Catholic school.

-Oh, really?

And we always had those choirs, and my teacher, Miss Bond,

-she would always pick me for...to do the solo part.

-What sort of solos?

Could you give me a little bit of something classical

-that you've done?

-Ah!

-Maybe a Christmas carol?

# Silent night

# Holy night

# All is calm

# All is bright... #

There's a soprano voice in there.

You've got choral, soprano-y colours there,

but there's also a kind of jazzy vibrato to it. Very flexible.

I think that's good and, you know, I think that...

if we can turn that into an asset with this choir, you know,

if its flexibility can become an asset rather than a hindrance,

which it sort of feels like it is at the moment,

then it will be unstoppable.

-I will see you at rehearsal.

-OK.

-Thank you for your lovely singing.

The contest has begun. It's game on from here on in.

Now the pressure mounts as Gareth is about to reveal the contest song

-the choir will perform in front of the judges.

-It's One by U2.

You all know it? Pass this around.

U2's 1992 hit was written when the band faced a dilemma

over their musical direction and speaks of fractured relationships.

-Good song?

-Yes, it's a lovely song.

-Good. Stand up, let's try it.

One, two, three. And...

# Did I disappoint you?

# Disappoint you?

# Bad taste in your mouth?

# Ooooh

# You act like you never had love

# # And you want me to go without

# Well, it's...

# One love

# One blood

# One life You've got to do what you should... #

I've never heard it before, but that is beautiful.

I mean, we'd only tried a few bars

and I thought, "I think I'm going to like this."

# ..Do what you should

# One life... #

Yeah, that's a really lovely tune.

Quite high for the sopranos,

so we're sort of screeching away at the top, but we'll do OK.

# ..Carry each other. #

Good, OK, have a seat. It's actually a very strong song, this.

It's powerful lyrics,

but you really have to have an understanding of the words

and you have to have the absolute togetherness and clarity of diction.

That is absolutely vital.

I think what we need to think about is diction, and accent as well.

Out of 22 of you, half of you are not from here.

So, we just need to agree on something fairly neutral.

This is an American bank, right?

So, it sort of makes sense for you

to sing roughly with an American accent.

So, Alex, read the lyrics out for us, will you?

Is it getting better? Or do you feel the same?

Will it make it easier on you now you've got someone to blame?

Let's just sing that through from, "Is it getting better?"

Better. One, two...

# Is it getting better? #

# Oooh

# Or do you feel the same?

# Oooh... #

The tenors, it doesn't sound like one section at all.

# One love... #

We've got an American, we've got a Brit,

we've got somebody from Africa.

We've got a really big range.

# One love But we're not the same. #

Executive coach Rafael started his career in the New York office.

Gareth's charged him with teaching the choir the correct pronunciation.

-For once in my life.

-ALL:

-For once in my life.

# Gonna make a change

# I'm gonna make a change. #

This is so anti-elocution.

Your parents will be pleased

they spent so much money on your education.

That song definitely is in my bones

and it's something I've always loved doing.

Did I disappoint you?

ALL: Did I disappoint you?

HE LAUGHS

-I can't do this. We can't do this.

-Yes, you can. Come on.

I attribute that to my dad telling me stories

about family members who were great classical pianists,

or playing me Chopin, to my cousins who were into musical theatre.

..Need to go without.

Singing is my bliss.

With each other.

ALL: With each other

-Think annoying American tourists.

-Eh!

Every choir's contest performance has a soloist.

Today, Gareth wants to find the bank's star talent.

I don't know what I'm going to get.

The important thing is that the soloist feels it.

And they make you feel the song.

Whatever the song is, that's the absolute essential element of it.

They've got to understand the song, and they've got to be able to

put it across to an audience, to make them feel something.

I think...what else is the point of music?

First to audition is the head of private banking.

Hello, David. Let's try it.

# Is it getting better

# Or do you feel the same? #

OK, fine. How do you feel about the song?

I love the song. It's a lovely song.

I mean, I think it comes together beautifully in harmony.

-Good, David. Thank you very much.

-Thank you very much.

-See you later.

-Interesting. Thank you.

I think it's quite interesting that he's thinking musically.

He's thinking about the tone, and the quality, and the harmonies.

But he's not really thinking about the song.

Hello!

For the next two hours,

Gareth hears nine more choir members try for the solo.

# Is it getting better

# Or do you feel the same? #

Good, Paulina. How do you feel about the song?

I like the fact that a lot of it is in my range.

Until he goes very high, where I have to squeak.

SHE LAUGHS

With the sopranos, but... No, otherwise it's very nice.

OK, I think I'm happy.

# Will it make it easier on you... #

My struggle with some of these guys is that they are almost too bright.

# You say one love... #

It's just that lack of guts. It's a bit detached.

# Is it getting better... #

What I'm starting to realise is that nobody really knows what the song is

about, and we haven't really decided what it means here.

-Hi, Chika, how are you?

-I'm good. You?

-Very well.

# One love

# We get to share it

# Leaves you, baby, if you don't care for it. #

-I like that.

-Thank you.

-How do you feel about the song?

Honestly, it was the first time I've heard this song.

OK, so how do you make that personal,

how do you make that a song about the city?

You know, it could come across as a question

that we are asking the world,

is it getting better, or do you feel like you still have someone

to blame for the financial crisis and how does that make you feel?

-Yes, I think I'm happy.

-OK.

-Thank you very much, bye.

-Bye.

That was genuinely just great.

She thinks about the words and holds them in her mind as she is

singing them, and she fixes you with her terrifying stare as she sings.

It is quite bewitching. She is very good.

-Hello.

-Hello.

-Next to audition is bonds trader, Alex.

Have you done any singing solos before?

It has been a while, I think.

-# Is it...#

-BLEEP. BLEEP.

-Sorry.

-HIGH-PITCHED:

-# Is it...#

-I don't know where to sing that.

-# Is it getting better...#

# Or do you feel the same?

# Is it make it easier on you now

# You've got someone to blame

# You say

# One love

# One life... #

Sorry, I got lost, I was just listening to you, that's good.

-I liked that.

-I like the song.

It's really emotional, there's the part of it that feels very...

hurt and that emotion I can really sit with.

I split up with my ex about a year ago, so that feels...

Like all those, anyway. (Fuck.) Sorry.

-Good, thank you.

-OK, thanks very much.

I think he's great.

There's something very vulnerable and emotional about him

in a very sterile and apparently feeling-less environment.

I think that's fascinating,

because I don't think people expect that about bankers.

I think we just think they are all heartless

masters of the universe, just taking our money!

Hello, James.

The solo auditions have left Gareth with a dilemma about who will

lead the choir in front of the judges.

There's a very good standard of singing here, technically speaking.

Everyone is in tune. Everyone's got a good brain.

I have got three contenders. None of them are perfect.

Hello!

Have you been very good and done lots of homework?

-Yes.

-Tenors, have you been good?

-Yes.

-Are you lying to me?

-No, we really have!

-What about basses?

-Yes.

-Learning how to count.

-Learning how to count, ironic!

So, let's talk about the solo.

So I wanted somebody who was going to be able to represent you well,

who was going to be able to sing it with feeling and emotion.

The person I would like to do the solo is...

-Alex.

-What?!

LAUGHTER AND CHEERING

Well done, Alex. Well done.

I wasn't really expecting that, so that's good.

My heart is beating.

I feel pressure for the rest of the guys.

I don't want to let anybody down so I don't want to be the weak link

and they go, they should never have picked Alex.

-Shall we have a listen to Alex sing it?

-ALL: Yes!

Alex, step out here.

And let's all stand up and let's hear it.

# Is it getting better... #

CHOIR HUM IN HARMONY

# Or do you feel the same?

# You act like that's not the right line! #

LAUGHTER

Will it make it better?

# You've got someone to blame

# You say one love

# One life...#

Now, I'm inclined to say, Alex, sing the chorus, too, you all right?

-Yes, that was a lot of nerves.

-It was a lot of nerves, yes.

I think his voice sounded great.

His interpretation was more vulnerable and kind of intimate.

It's lovely, isn't it? It's really lovely.

The instant he just sang the first note,

I can see why he picked him, the emotion, just the tone of his voice.

Well done, Alex.

I feel like now we need to really start to go in the middle

-and it is a passionate song.

-# One love...

No, you are fading away.

It has got to be a bit more ferocious.

Let's put the "one loves" around it.

-# One love... #

-I think we've already lost.

# One life, you've got to do what you should. #

It's almost there but it's not quite.

'I feel like Alex has found the passion that this choir has really been lacking.'

I feel like it's a technical exercise.

I just want to shake it out of them.

First off, I would really like to get to grips with the text.

All singing is, I think, is taking a word and stretching it out, expressively, over a pitch.

That's all it is.

If you don't have a real sense of the text at the front of your mind,

then I don't think you're singing properly.

I would like to get out of here. We'll go and sit in the park.

Let's go, come on.

Freedom!

Gareth is determined to make the choir understand

and convey the meaning of their song.

Shall we sit here?

Have a seat. The kind of singing that excites me is singing with purpose.

You can go to any church up and down the land and see a choral society

singing beautifully, but not always with conviction.

I think what makes a workplace choir really work is

when the song and the people chime together.

So you have to find a way to get behind those words.

So what I would quite like to do now is I would like you to find

a partner and go one line,

one line, like a conversation that builds into an argument.

All stand up. Here we go and... Go.

-Is it getting better?

-Do you feel the same?

-One life!

-With each other.

-Sisters!

-Brother!

-Now you've got someone to blame.

-Are you happy?

-They are so polite.

I've asked them to argue and it's so reserved and such nice people,

they don't want to shout.

Leaves you, baby, if you don't care for it.

This is a really strong song. It needs a bit of passion.

Leaves you, baby, if you don't care for it.

It's a very polite argument at the moment.

-Will it make it easier on you now?

-You got someone to blame!

When it leaves...

THEY LAUGH

They are getting there, they are warming up.

-YOU act like you never had love.

-And you want ME to go without?

It's nice to hear them speaking the words

and actually there's a bit of meaning there.

Can we get back into choir formation, S, O, T, B.

The choir has spent all afternoon working on the text.

Now it's time to see if it shows in their delivery.

That's it, ready, and...one, two.

CHOIR SING IN HARMONY

# One love

# We get to share it

# Leaves you, baby

# If you don't care for it

# Did I disappoint you?

# Disappoint you

# Leave a bad taste in your mouth

# Oooh

# You act like you've never had love

# And you want me to go without... #

Strong.

# Well, it's one love... #

To the end.

# One life, you've got to do what you should

# One life

# With each other, sisters... #

We are all struggling to learn the notes.

And the timing.

None of us had thought about the words and I think that was

a critical last piece that came into place and he made us focus on that.

You know, it's beautifully connected us to the song,

so, fantastic, really.

-ALEX:

-# Is it getting better? #

Gareth's last rehearsal is spent working with his soloist, Alex.

-# Will it make it easier on you now?

-#

Good, I think it's going to be good.

It feels low, doesn't it? # Is it getting better? #

Let me hear it up the octave, try it.

-THEY SING HIGHER: # Is it getting better?

-#

# Or do you feel the same?

# One love... #

Yeah, I think that's the way to sing it.

I think it's better up the octave and I think you can do it.

It feels more edgy, where's that coming from?

Where is that raaah coming from and why is no-one else doing that?

I think there has always been something holding me back

-and now I am thinking...

-What has been holding you back?

For a long time I was holding myself back.

I left New York, I left my family, coming out of the closet,

loads of stuff.

-When did that happen?

-When I came out?

-Yes.

-When I was 25.

Right. That's quite late by some people's standards.

Yes, by the kids these days. The last year has been pretty immense.

I think that comes over when you sing that,

like there is a sense of abandon in it, which I think is great.

If you can stand up in front of your entire company and go,

"This is me, I am Alex," I think that would be a great thing.

-I'm going to rock out in front of you.

-Brilliant.

-Globally.

-Globally!

# Is it getting better... #

It's fantastic that he is from the trading floor because he really

understands this world and I think he can sing about this world.

# Will it make it easy on you now

# You've got someone to blame... #

I hope that that passion can inspire the rest of them

and transfer into the overall singing.

# Don't you share it

# If it leaves you, baby If you don't care for it... #

-Ohh!

-# Love is a temple, love! #

I quite like you rocking out on it, that's good.

The next time I'm back, it's showtime.

OPERATIC SOLO

The day of the big performance has arrived.

The choir will be singing to hundreds of colleagues,

friends and family, in the atrium of the bank,

and it will be streamed live to offices around the world.

It's great acoustic, it's really good.

This is the perfect place for them to perform.

I think we'll be a team that hopefully doesn't buckle under the pressure.

-I think we'll rise to the occasion.

-I think today is a defining point.

It's the first time we're being judged,

so I don't want to let anyone down.

At the moment we don't know the judges

but I would expect that they would be looking for us

to really pass the message of what we are singing across.

Judging the contest are three highly acclaimed members of the music community.

Ken Burton is a gospel aficionado and award-winning conductor.

I'm expecting to find a really arrogant bunch of singers!

But, no, I think that they will be good.

I think the standard will be high.

The second judge is Professor Paul Mealor,

an eminent British composer who wrote music for the royal wedding.

The poor old bankers have gone through a bit of a crisis,

haven't they, with everyone hating them.

It's going to be tough for them to pull off a choir that is going to touch people's hearts.

Finally, internationally renowned opera singer Sarah Fox.

My particular area as a judge today is the performance aspect,

so I'm looking at how they present themselves, how they communicate,

which is frankly, in my opinion, what the whole of music is about.

The judges will be evaluating the choir on technical ability,

musicality and performance.

They'll be giving the choir feedback

which they'll then have to take on board, or their ambition to win will be over.

The London atrium is full to capacity.

New York, Warsaw and Johannesburg are waiting.

We've just got to go on that stage, be brave

and do what we came to do.

Judges are judges, little bit nervous because you don't know what

they are looking for and what they will, say but I think

if we just perform our best, that's all we can do.

CHEERING

Gather round. We are going global.

When I came here, it was a very faceless edifice when you arrive,

and actually, I've got to know you now, I've got to really enjoy your company.

I've had a lot of fun here

and I don't think that is what people expect from banks.

If you connect with that audience, the judges will lap it up.

Don't cock it up.

LAUGHTER

OK, it's time to turn those wretched BlackBerries off, Jason. Oh, good!

It's all about heart and soul. Are we ready?

-ALL: Yes.

-Let's go and do it. Come on.

APPLAUSE

Wow, there's a lot of people here!

Hello!

It gives me great pleasure to introduce to you the City Choir!

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Please welcome our three judges, Paul Mealor, composer,

Sarah Fox, soprano, and Ken Burton, vocalist and gospel conductor.

The introductions are not over.

Hello, New York!

Hurray!

It worked!

Amazing!

What are you looking for from your choir today?

World-class performance.

Well, I'm so glad you could join us.

As well as the global headquarters in New York,

offices in two other continents will be tuning in live.

Let's say hello to Warsaw!

Couldn't you just pretend, New York?

LAUGHTER

CHEERING

Ladies and gentlemen, the Citi Choir.

MUSIC: "One" by U2

# Is it getting better

# Ooh-ooh

# Do you feel the same

# Ooh-ooh

# Will it make it easier on you now

# Ooh-ooh

# You got someone to blame

# You say

# One love One life

# When it's one need In the night

# One love

# One love

# We get to share it

# Leaves you, baby if you don't care for it

# Did I disappoint you

# Disappoint

# Or leave a bad taste in your mouth?

# You act like you never had love

# And you want me to go without

# Well, it's one love

# One blood

# One life

# You got to do what you should

# One life

# With each other

# Sisters

# Brothers

# One life

# But we're not the same

# We get to carry each other

# Mmmm. #

APPLAUSE

Citi Choir!

Warsaw, what did you make of it?

LAUGHTER

And finally, Johannesburg.

CHEERING

Thank you very much, everyone.

Our international guests. Let's give them a round of applause.

Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome our judges.

We have been digesting your performance

and we've actually enjoyed ourselves.

So, technical. There's a tuning issue in this choir.

And it often happens when sections are together, for example,

sopranos and tenors, you know that bit when you're in unison?

Wasn't in unison, I'm afraid.

From a performance point of view,

I was very impressed with you on the whole.

I thought you communicated the song very well.

There was a confidence in your song,

and that may come from the fact that there are lots of different

nationalities, I don't know, but there was something quite vibrant

about the song which was really lovely.

Alex, fantastic solo, well done.

Really fantastic.

The sound was cohesive.

It was a very, very wonderful uniform tone.

But I just want it to be much more rich and much more full bodied.

That's something I would really like you to work on

as we move towards the next round.

Your choir, everyone.

CHEERING

When the choir next sings in the contest, it will be going

head-to-head with the four other choirs for a place in the semifinal.

I just think it's wonderful how all these different people,

different ages, different types of job, different backgrounds,

it came out as one choir.

Today, I think we got there.

That first round of applause after we'd performed for the first time

made me cry a little bit, I've got to admit,

but don't tell anyone.

And just really, really powerful.

Thank goodness that's over.

It's been 30 or 40 hours in the making getting to this point,

so we hope we've achieved something.

Well done. Wow!

That was a hell of a performance.

-It just felt right, didn't it?

-ALL: Yes.

Well done, Alex.

I'm really pleased with them.

I'm surprised how much soul this group had.

When I arrived, my view of this place was a soulless, heartless place.

And actually, I don't think that's the case.

This was an extraordinary day.

It's a bank!

Next time - all five choirs come face to face at the world-renowned

Royal Academy of Music.

Ooh! That's quite exciting.

I've got upgraded.

In just three days,

they'll each learn one of the giants of classical music.

I was miming half of it.

I bet you've got another gear.

And they'll perform to stay in the contest.

Tonight, for the first time, one of these choirs will be leaving.

I just want to be on the happy bus that leaves here.

I don't know if it's enough.

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