07/05/2017

Celebrating the high standard of choral music in Northern Ireland. For such a small place, Northern Ireland 'punches way above its weight' when it comes to singing and choirs. Sing Out celebrates these choirs and asks who these people are and why they do it. Meet the members of Seven Towers Male Voice Choir at their annual concert in the Straid Arts Centre in Ballymena, and hear what motivates them to sing and produce such a wonderful sound. Although the Big Belfast Choir enjoy the challenge of singing in different locations and occasions such as 'pop-up choirs', 'flash' choirs, and 'express choir' sessions , their chief intention is to sing as well as they can. They proved this with a stunning performance in the Bangor International Choral Festival, where they won their class. For some of the choirs the music and the standard of choralism are the most important aspects. These are the choirs that have given Northern Ireland a worldwide reputation for choral excellence, and Sing Out examines the reason the country has produced so many great choirs. The programme also meets choirs such as Military Wives, as well as hospital choirs and workplace choirs, whose reason for forming is not solely for musical reasons. Presenter John Anderson will also talk to high-profile individuals in all walks of life, such as sport, government, broadcasting to find out the impact that singing in a choir might have had on their early years. The series is an affectionate and unashamedly biased celebration of choral music in Northern Ireland today.