Episode 1

Series looking for the orchestra that best captures the spirit of great British amateur music-making in the UK, presented by Katie Derham. The series begins with five amateur orchestras from across the UK - The Slaithwaite Philharmonic from Yorkshire, The North Devon Symphonia, The London Gay Symphony Orchestra, The Stirling Orchestra and The People's Orchestra from Birmingham. Each orchestra receives a master class from the series judge, world-renowned conductor Paul Daniel, while double-bass maestro Chi-chi Nwanoku mentors each orchestra as they strive to reach their full potential. This week's challenge is to master that pinnacle of orchestral playing, the symphony. Each of the five orchestras tackle an allotted extract from the likes of Beethoven, Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninov which they then perform at the BBC's legendary Maida Vale Studios - after which one orchestra will be eliminated from the contest by Daniel.