Let Us Make a Joyful Noise

I've been enjoying immensely the cracking good new BBC America reality series, The Choir.  The first series features Gareth Malone, choirmaster, trying to start a choir at a high school in a blue collar community that has never had a school choir, and then getting them ready in a few short months to compete in the Choir Olympics in China.  The back stories of the students are often as compelling as the story of the choir. 

Gareth is infectious with his absolute passion for music and choirs and the role they play in bringing people out of themselves, in helping them find self-confidence through self-expression, and in the unifying power music has to bring people and communities together through song.  It brings to my own experiences with choirs; our church youth group going into nursing homes and singing at Christmas time and having the residents join in the singing; the timeless melodies and familiar lyrics joining strangers previously separated by generations, now united by song.

And I watch feeling thankful for my high school choir teacher, Andrea Lyman, who made our school choir open to all.  She shared Gareth's passion for the power of music and performance and community.  Our school's show choir was competitive, but she encouraged me to try out.  And even though I didn't make that choir (I have a range of about five notes and have been known to render people sterile with my singing), the period of thinking I MIGHT be good enough to make it was worth it.  I;m sure that is why she encouraged all members of the choir to try out for the show choir.  She wanted each of us to believe we just MIGHT be good enough to make it, to believe in ourselves.  Teachers like Mrs. Lyman and like Gareth understand that teaching is as much about building the character and confidence of their students as it is about conveying information on a particular subject matter.
                                                                                      

The Choir is drawing inevitable comparison to the cultural phenomenon that is Glee.  I LOVE Glee for its often poignant stories, for Jane Lynch, for it sometimes awesome 80s pop songs, and for the chance to hear Kristen Chenoweth sing.  I LOATHE Glee for its often ludicrous stories, for its contrived musical-dance numbers, and for its sometimes awful 80s pop songs.  So on Glee?  I am a solid meh.

But I am not at all meh about The Choir.  If you haven't already, CHEQUE IT OUT!  Wednesday evenings on BBC America.  And if you don't have BBC America, are you MENTAL?!