Gareth Malone is back and this time he wants to get staff in some of Britain's busiest workplaces singing while they work. Travelling across the country, he sets out to create four unique choirs in four very different organisations, which will then sing head-to-head in a contest to find his best workplace choir. Gareth is at Lewisham Healthcare NHS Trust to set up the first of his four choirs from the doctors, nurses and porters at one of London's busiest hospitals. But as the staff come together, the song Gareth chooses for them to sing proves challenging in a way that he wasn't expecting.
In his mission to get some of the country's busiest workplaces singing, Gareth Malone heads west to the Royal Mail in Bristol. He wants to create the second of four choirs that will compete in the contest to find his best workplace choir. As he searches for hidden talent amongst the managers and posties from across the region, the initial reaction from staff is quite mixed. But as the choir begin to bond through rehearsals, Gareth discovers an enormous sense of pride in the workforce and the song he chooses for the choir to sing hits the right note.
Choirmaster Gareth Malone has already set up two of the four workplace choirs that will compete in his singing contest, at Lewisham Hospital in London and at the Royal Mail in Bristol. This time he travels to Manchester to create his third choir amongst baggage handlers, security staff, air traffic control and the fire crew of Manchester Airport. With the staff more used to singing karaoke than choral music, things get off to a bumpy start but, as Gareth begins his search for a soloist, he discovers hidden talent in unexpected places and the choir is soon ready for take off.
Choirmaster Gareth Malone continues his mission to get some of Britain's busiest workplaces singing. This week he travels to the Midlands to set up final choir in one of the country's largest water companies, Severn Trent Water. Once formed, the choir will sing against three other workplace choirs as they compete for the chance to be crowned Gareth's Best Workplace choir. With over five thousand call centre staff and over five hundred workmen, dealing with everything from raw sewage and finding leaks, finding thirty people to make up the choir appears easy. But as staff are struggling to juggle family commitments and busy work schedules, things aren't plain sailing and Gareth begins to feel the pressure.
With all of his workplace choirs set up, the contest to find Gareth Malone's best workplace choir begins in earnest as all four choirs compete against each other for the first time. Each choir is given a new song and Gareth piles on the pressure by announcing that they must create a distinctive performance routine if they want to stand out. Each choir has less than four weeks to prepare, before they must perform in front of the three expert judges at Bristol's prestigious Colston Hall. Only three choirs will make it through to the final, one choir will leave but which will it be: Lewisham NHS Trust, The Royal Mail, Manchester Airport or Severn Trent Water?
After last show's semi-final performances in front of the judges, it is time for the final three to battle it out. They face their biggest challenge yet as they perform in front of an audience of thousands at one of the world's most prestigious choral music festivals - the International Eisteddfod in Llangollen. In the audience will be the three expert judges who will decide which choir will win the overall contest and be crowned Gareth's Best Workplace Choir.
Choirmaster Gareth Malone returns to create harmony in five of Britain's biggest workplaces. As the contest to be crowned 'best workplace choir' begins, he sets sail with P&O, the UK's longest-running cross-Channel ferry service. With choir members based at sea and on both sides of the English Channel, can Gareth create a musical entente cordiale?
At Birmingham City Council, Gareth Malone discovers a singing traffic warden.
At Sainsbury's, the choir's deepest bass breaks cover with his passion for Dolly Parton.
Choirmaster Gareth Malone feels the heat at Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service, as he continues his bid to find the year's best workplace choir. Bells and blue lights disrupt auditions but when rehearsals finally get underway Gareth tries to give the backroom staff the confidence to stand tall and be heard amidst the firefighters who attack choral singing with all sirens blaring.
As the contest to be crowned 'best workplace choir' continues, choirmaster Gareth Malone enters the embattled world of high finance, high flyers and rock bottom reputation at one of the biggest investment and trading banks in the world, Citi, in London's Canary Wharf. With Gareth imagining long lunches and cigars, he finds himself in a lock down during an anti-capitalist protest, learns how many noughts there are in a trillion and creates his most musically accomplished workplace choir yet. When the bankers choose to sing Man In The Mirror could it signal a moment of reflection or will they drive on with technical ambition and ignore Gareth's attempts to find some heart?
In the quarter-final, all of the choirs finally come face to face when they arrive at Gareth's alma mater, the prestigious Royal Academy of Music, the place where he learnt his musical trade, along with the likes of Sir John Tavener, Sir Elton John and Lesley Garrett. The choirs undertake three days of intense tuition and tackle some of the giants of classical music which, after just 72 hours, they will perform to three world-class judges. Who will continue on their harmonious path with Gareth and show him that they know their Elgar from their elbow? Birmingham City Council struggles to make Vivaldi glorious, the Cheshire firefighters tackle operatic Verdi with all sirens blaring, and Sainsbury's says a prayer as they attempt Schubert's Ave Maria, while the Citi bankers are desperate to come up smelling of roses with their Flower Duet, and P&O Ferries delve into the depths of Mozart's Lacrimosa. After three of the most musically intense days of The Choir so far, which choirs will satisfy Gareth's determination that they achieve musical excellence?
Choirmaster Gareth Malone challenges the four remaining workplace choirs to find their souls, rhythm and conviction in a joyful bid to be crowned the year's best workplace choir. Three world class choral judges, an 800-strong audience and the London Community Gospel Choir await them at a celebration concert in one of the country's biggest gospel churches. Spirits are lifted at the fire service amidst news of strike action, the besuited bankers descend into dad dancing, the council workers try to rediscover belief in themselves and the ferry staff exuberantly rock the boat during rehearsals. On the night, potential soloists wait nervously for Gareth to decide who has the courage and fervour to step forward and improvise and lead their choir into the grand final.
The final of the competition takes place at Ely Cathedral, Cambridgeshire, where the three remaining choirs perform the world premier of a piece by composer Paul Mealor and lyricist Brendan Graham. Having been practising intensely for six months, the choirs are now challenged by choirmaster Gareth Malone to interpret the piece however they wish, meaning that within each choir, the members must agree on their strengths, their style and their stars. Performances, backed by the Ely Cathedral Choir, take place in a packed cathedral, where the most beautiful choral singing has resonated for a thousand years. It then falls to the three judges to decide who will be crowned best workplace choir.
