Gareth Malone goes live and local
mainBritain’s champion chorus builder is coming down your way…
Gareth Malone, the UK’s Favourite Choirmaster, will embark on a 14 date UK tour in May and June 2014 and will be joined by his new choir Gareth Malone’s Voices.
Following a nationwide search earlier this year for accomplished young singers, Gareth Malone has assembled the country’s finest young talent and their debut album “Voices” will be released on November 18, 2013.
This live tour, and his new album, follow a period of personal and professional triumph for Malone which saw him topping the album and single charts with the Military Wives, and a Christmas No.1 hit, as well as receiving royal recognition in the form of an OBE. His popular BBC shows “The Choir” and “Sing While You Work” (now in its second series on BBC2) have seen him take total first-timers to levels of extraordinary success and have led to a nationwide revival in community singing.
Come, have fun and be inspired!
GARETH MALONE: THE LIVE TOUR
21.05.14 London, Eventim Apollo
23.05.14 Blackpool, Opera House
24.05.14 Oxford, New Theatre
25.05.14 Birmingham, Symphony Hall
27.05.14 Manchester, The Bridgewater Hall
28.05.14 Sheffield, City Hall
30.05.14 Newcastle, City Hall
31.05.14 Edinburgh, Usher Hall
01.06.14 Nottingham, Royal Concert Hall
04.06.14 Cardiff, St.David’s Hall
05.06.14 Bristol, Colston Hall
07.06.14 Bournemouth, International Centre
08.06.14 Plymouth, Pavilions
10.06.14 Portsmouth, Guildhall
Why the beard?
Why the inanity of your question?
Not remotely inane. Beards cut you off from people and are statistically proven to reduce public interest in your person and work. Have a look at the studies devoted to Frank Dobson, the Labour London mayoral candidate back in the days when the independent newt man ended up walking it. After his success based on communication it seems a strange choice to decide now to wear one.
I found the first few series of chorus-building by Gareth Malone quite interesting, but the idea is now becoming rather gimmicky. I wonder how the choruses fare once Malone and the TV spotlight leave them to their own devices and move on to the next project.
It’s an immutable law of television that all successful programmes go on for at least one series too many. I expect it’s money. Norman understands these things, I don’t. I suppose as reality tv goes, this is pretty harmless. If it gives people who hadn’t experienced it some idea of what communal music-making can do to enrich one’s life, fair enough, but I take the point about tv moving on and leaving them to it.
No doubt he has a sly charisma and boyish charm about him.
But this format is tired and needs replacing quick.
Malone’s first series was ground-breaking and did much to popularise choral singing in this country. The ‘military wives’ exercise was also worthy and touching in parts.
I’ve watched a few clips of his latest ‘Sing While you work’ and have been horrified by Malone’s metaphormosis into the choral equivalent of Simon Cowell. He has totally lost his original nurturing style of inspiration to be replaced by smugness, complacency and treating his amateur choiristers like bits of dirt to be reminded that they are totally devoid of talent.
GM clearly wants to make money now. He should give up on his mission to be the saviour of amateur choral singing- a role to which he is clearly unsuited and does not fulfill his huge ambition. Yes, Gareth, thats right, concentrate on cashing in on a Xmas Number 1
Just wanted to echo Mark Mortimer’s comments…..the latest t.v.series has unmasked the real arrogant persona of Mr. Malone, who should be crawling back to his ivory tower pronto!
As I said, I agree that there are problems with stretching this format too far, but I wouldn’t want to be too harsh to Malone personally. I don’t suppose it’s money as such — I have witnessed the sort of pressure that’s put on people in his position to keep a project going “for everyone’s sake”. I can’t imagine he finds it very satisfactory either, hammering round the country to drop in on choirs he’s had to leave to local conductors in between visits. I’m not sure exactly what “ivory tower” he’ll go back to, but he probably can’t wait. He may or may not be arrogant, but I think he just says to camera the sort of thing he’s expected to say. It’s all a bit contrived, but then we knew that.