NVPN Executive Committee response to TwentyTwentyTV re Gareth

Malone A Cappella contest (scroll down for original message from

TwentyTwenty)
6th March 2015
Dear David Williams
We understand you have been contacting various members of the Natural Voice
Practitioners Network (NVPN) while seeking a cappella groups for the new
Gareth Malone singing project. The NVPN may seem an obvious port of call in
your recruitment of groups for this latest contest, as many of our leaders are
skilled in working without instruments or using backing tracks.
However, we cannot help feeling that the element of competition which has all
but taken over from the actual joy of singing in the most recent programmes
featuring Gareths skills has created a distorted picture of what actually happens
in the expanding world of community choirs and why so many people want to
sing. Whilst we recognise that this form of competitiveness, with all its stresses
and tensions, makes for dramatic television, the Natural Voice Network works
with an ethos where everyone is a winner simply because they are singing. We
are dismayed that the undoubted skills of Gareth Malone and his team have
been harnessed in the cause of production values which eclipse what we believe
to be the true value of singing for communities.
Our members often work with people who have summoned up huge courage to
come along to a singing group, having been told at some point that they cant
sing whether this was by friends, family members, or music teachers at
school. A failed audition can blight someones willingness to sing with others for
many years sometimes a lifetime. A huge potential source of human
connection is then lost and society is impoverished. As a Network we are
passionate about making singing accessible to everyone, and bringing it back
into the heart of our communities. Not as something fashioned into an elite
activity which separates people into winners and losers.
We cant (and wouldnt presume to) speak for all our members while it is plainly
anathema to many, some may feel comfortable about taking part in the
programmes good luck to them! We dont seek to rule the world and eliminate
all competitions they obviously have their place as part of a spectrum of
activity. We would urge you however to think deeply and carefully about other,
future projects. There are some fantastic human stories to be told, both
individual and at a community level. Dare to do something different and consider
a format other than the increasingly hackneyed competition and jeopardy
formula. Instead of heading to the hunger games how about being really creative
and showcasing something that feeds everyone?
Best regards
Janet Stansfeld, Chair, for the Executive Committee of the Natural Voice
Practitioners Network.

www.naturalvoice.net

See next page for original message (received by some, but not all, members!)
From: David Williams [mailto:David.Williams@twentytwenty.tv]
Sent: 04 March 2015 10:15
To: undisclosed-recipients:
Subject: Gareth Malone Needs Your A Cappella Act!

Hi there,
I hope you dont mind me contacting you out of the blue like this but Im
emailing as were producing a brand new series with Gareth Malone, the
choirmaster at the heart of award-winning series like Sing While You
Work and The Choir: Military Wives.
Gareth is on a mission to find the best of Britains undiscovered a cappella or
vocal harmony groups for a brand new BBC2 show, in which existing groups will
compete to be crowned the U.K.s most entertaining a cappella act. Any style of
singing goes but the main thing to remember is: no instruments or backing
tracks allowed!
We are looking for creative, dynamic and unique musical groups from across the
U.K. who are able to sing without any backing track or instrumental
accompaniment. Were searching for groups who are willing to push their vocal
abilities to the limit and rise to a range of challenges set by Gareth over the
course of the series.
Gareth will help each of the groups meet their full potential, challenging their
musicianship and technical ability so that they will become the best they can
possibly be. Over the course of the series, groups will be allocated contact time
with Gareth, who will offer his own expert and inimitably enthusiastic guidance,
advice and encouragement.
This is going to be a warm and inspiring series where the singing groups musical
talent needs to be matched by their heart and enthusiasm, as well as their ability
to be creative, inventive and have fun. Any entrants must have shed loads of
staying power and a burning urge to win, in what will be a challenging but hugely
enjoyable contest. It will also require a fair amount of commitment in terms of
time, so groups should also be ready, willing and able to devote the requisite
time.
If you, or anyone you know, would like to apply, details of how to get in touch
can be found on the attached poster. Please feel free to forward it on to anyone
you think might be interested in taking part or, if youd like to spread the word,

you can post it on any social media (Twitter/Facebook/Instagram) sites you might
subscribe to.
All applications must be received by 30th April 2015 and entrants must be aged
16 or over.
If you have any questions then please let me know. I can be reached
via david.williams@twentytwenty.tv or 0207 424 7726.
I look forward to hearing from you.
All the best,

David
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