Watch Gareth Malone's new web series following the VOICES choir from day one to recording the album

Gareth Malone - VOICES

New web series launched

Following on from yesterday's album launch of Gareth Malone's new choir, the first episode of his new web series has gone live. The series will follow Malone and the Voices choir from the first day of auditions right up to the end of the album recording process. You can watch it here:

Malone said: "The first day of auditions should have been a simple process – Tom Lewis [director of A&R at Decca Records] and I just had to sit through a handful of performances from people who all had previous choral experience. But after half a day and only two singers up to the standard we required, I wasn't exactly positive about the whole thing."

"Because of the nature of the songs we'd be performing, I needed singers who were not only able to pick up the music quickly but who also had the personality and charisma to connect with an audience… At times this was a real struggle to find, but as the auditions went on we began to see some real talent appear."

"Some of the singers were clearly nervous, and while I was sympathetic, I knew that they'd be facing much more daunting tasks as the choir progressed and I had to know they'd be able to cope and not crack under the pressure."

"By the end of the day, I'd managed to assemble roughly a quarter of my choir. With only two more days left to audition, I was simultaneously apprehensive and positive… It wasn't an easy task, but an incredibly exciting challenge to form perhaps the best young choir in the country."

Voices is out 4^th November

Full Choir Line-Up:

Rebecca Widdicombe, 18, York

Naomi Banks, 19, Hampshire

Harriet Armston-Clarke, 25, Bath

James Partridge, 22, Poole

Fraser Moyle, 24, Littlehampton

Andrew Mott, 19, Cranleigh

James Newby, 20, Leicestershire

Joshua Edwards, 25, Harpenden

Lara Rebekah Harvey, 21, Welwyn

Oliver Kember, 18, Bristol