New Channel 4 Music Documentaries

Conductor Charles Hazlewood is to feature in a new Channel 4 documentary, that follows him as he assembles an orchestra made up of disabled musicians.

Paraorchestra will show how the conductor recruited the musicians, and will also reveal each player’s own relationship with music.

Channel 4 said the documentary, being made by What Larks Productions, would explore the “achievements and challenges facing disabled musicians in Britain today”.

The show was announced today as one of four new music programmes commissioned by Channel 4 arts commissioning editor Tabitha Jackson.

She said: “The Channel 4 arts mission is to find the creative expression of what it is to be alive now. While on the face of it these films are about music, in fact what they really illuminate, in a beautifully crafted way, is contemporary human experience and the power of music within that.”

As previously reported by Waveguide, Channel 4 has also ordered Attenborough and Bjork – The Nature of Music, in which David Attenborough and singer Bjork explore how music has evolved and how technology is likely to transform it.

Meanwhile, James Rhodes – Notes from the Inside follows musician James Rhodes as he takes a piano into a psychiatric hospital to explore how music can “change lives for the better”. It is being made by Jamie Oliver’s company, Fresh One Productions.

The last programme is Chopin Saved My Life, which explores Chopin’s first Ballade. It is being made by Oxford Film and Television.

August 02 2012 - waveguide.co.uk

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Ben Elton Writes Sitcom

Comedian Ben Elton has written the pilot for a new sitcom set in the world of local government.

Slings and Arrows was commissioned by BBC One controller Danny Cohen.

It stars David Haig as the "exasperated" manager of a local council's Health and Safety department.

Executive editor Gregor Sharp said he was "delighted" to bring Elton's "brilliant writing together with David Haig's superb comedy talents". "I can't wait to see it," he added.

Other cast members include Ashes To Ashes star Montserrat Lombard and The Thin Blue Line's Mina Anwar.

August 02 2012 - waveguide.co.uk

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HBO Rolling Stones Documentary

US cable channel HBO will air a new documentary about The Rolling Stones this autumn to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the band.

HBO programming president Michael Lombardo told journalists that the documentary, which has no title yet, was being directed by Brett Morgan.

He said: "This is all done as part of the band's 50th anniversary. This documentary has the full involvement of the four current band members, Mick, Keith, Charlie and Ron, as well as the former band members Bill Wyman and Mick Taylor."

August 02 2012 - waveguide.co.uk

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