Military Wives Choir

[Tez3]

Over here we have a chap called Gareth Malone who looks a bit geeky but is an amazing man, he believes music can change lives. He's done a few programmes where he's taken disaffected teenagers and made them into choirs singing amazingly but this last time he's done something so amazing he's had me in tears everytime I watched his latest series 'The Military Wives Choir'. He had an idea that the wives and girlfriends left behind when their men went to Afghanistan needed a voice. And what a voice he found, nurtured and finally showed off to the world. He went down to a military base just weeks before the men were due to employ, he got the women into the idea of starting a choir. He supported them through bad times, gave them confidence and listend while they talked, he taught them to sing and listening to them will break your heart. he joined them with another choir he formed from the wives of 42 CDO RM who had lost 8 Marine Commandos during the tour. The culmination of his project was to get the women to sing at the Annual Festival of Remembrance in the Albert Hall in front of the Queen and millions of television viewers. he commisisioned a composer to write a piece of music for them who used the words from letters between the women and their men for the words. It was truly moving watching them.
Along the way Gareth had them performing at a Passing Out dinner at Sandhurst the Army Officer College so that they could 'speak' to the future military commanders, he had them sing 'Do you want to dance with someone' at the Homecoming parade for their men.
Gareth wants military wives choirs everywhere, there's just been one started where I am.


The song written for them and sung at the Festival of Remembrance. The soloist Sam ( I feel I know here after watching the programme!) had gone through a bad time during the deployment and then lost her mother a couple of weeks before this performance. She started the programme depressed and with no confidence and look at her here, wonderful.!

This is part of the first programme.

This is their first public appearance Gareth arranged to give them confidence. Now I shall have to go and get tissues. Please Enjoy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87iaFcM7nZc&feature=related

 

[Sukerkin]

Thanks Tez, I was working myself into a right grump this evening and listening to that just washed the whole muddle of inconsequential things away.

 

[Tez3]

Thanks Tez, I was working myself into a right grump this evening and listening to that just washed the whole muddle of inconsequential things away.

Service men on deployment are rightly acclaimed for their bravery but these are the women behind those men, the ones who keep the family together and provide that safe haven for the men to come back to.
I have every admiration and sympathy for them, I know what it's like... as they say, been there, done that, got the wrinkles and grey hair. My other half was in Northern Ireland, Cyprus in the invasion and of course the Falklands.

I think the whole series (3 programmes) is on I Player and the song they sung at the Albert Hall is being released on 5th March, it would be wonderful it it could be the Christmas no1 instead of that insipid and pointless X Factor stuff!

 

[Tez3]

Correction...record release date is 19th December, hopefully for Christmas no 1.

 

[seasoned]

Outstanding. The closer one is to loved ones deployed, the better understanding of the situation as a whole. Thank you for sharing.

 

[Tez3]

Released 20 minutes ago... the official music video for the CD, go on order it you know you want to!!

Tissues at the ready, stand by.

 

[Sukerkin]

Aye, it seems whenever I watch that some dust gets blown in my eyes ... I really must clean up here in the computer room .