Avanti SoP Connie Fisher press release

CONNIE FISHER CLIMBS EVERY MOUNTAIN
FOR AVANTI MEDIA’S SECOND SONGS OF PRAISE
rd
On Sunday 3 November, Welsh singer, actor and presenter Connie Fisher will present a
heart-felt and lively edition of BBC One's flagship Christian music programme Songs of
Praise, celebrating the theme of Climb Every Mountain.
Guests joining Connie include
soloist Elin Manahan Thomas, the Llandaff Cathedral Choir, Steve Balsamo and Rosalie
Deighton.
Connie rose to fame playing the lead role of Maria in The Sound of Music at The London
Palladium having won How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s
reality TV show for BBC One. She says: “I’m absolutely delighted to be presenting Songs of
Praise for a second time. After playing a nun onstage for so many years as Maria Von Trapp,
I thought I was familiar with ‘climbing every mountain’. However, when I agreed to present
this special Welsh edition of the programme, I didn’t expect the production team to take the
title literally and make me climb everything in sight!”
She continues: “Singing plays a very important part in my life of course and, having overcome
my own obstacles, the theme is particularly pertinent. In the programme I speak to people
who have experienced the highs and lows of life, and have relied on their faith in God during
the toughest climbs and their darkest valleys, and to those whose faith is inspired by the
mountainous terrains of Wales. Whilst faith means different things to different people, the joy
we all find in singing is universal. We had great fun filming the programme. As a farmer’s
granddaughter, I very much enjoyed donning my wellies, and getting stuck in with herding
sheep with one of Wales’ last remaining shepherds – although his unconventional method of
whistling has to be seen to be believed!”
http://player.avantimedia.tv/index/public-player?h=5aafc8208a4769567f5e8968c9841cbb
Connie adds: “I might have spent three years on stage playing a nun in The Sound Of Music,
but this was the first time I had visited a real convent. It was an honour to spend a day with a
silent order of Carmelite nuns, behind the abbey walls; they were a completely fascinating
group of women. That wasn’t my only new experience on the shoot – I can now whistle (not
just sing!) a hymn – and I’m a dab hand at shearing sheep!”
Climb
Every
Mountain is
the
second
of
three
special
editions
of Songs
of
Praise celebrating the rich musical heritage of Wales, produced by Avanti Media, one of
Wales’ most successful independent content creators. Bear Grylls presented Welsh Coastal
Path on 25
th
rd
August, whilst on 23 February 2014 Llandaff: A City Within a
City will celebrate St David's Day in the stunning Llandaff Cathedral with the Three Welsh
Tenors.
Songs Of Praise: Climb Every Mountain is produced by Emyr Afan, Creative Director
of Avanti Media.
For further information please contact:
Anya Noakes / Kat Blair, Publicists for Avanti Media
020 7184 6734
[email protected] / [email protected]
Notes For Editors:
Avanti Media are a Welsh based production company and producers of entertainment
programming (Jonathan and Charlotte, JLS Revealed) and landmark events that engage and
inspire across all media. Avanti pride themselves on being Wales' leading company in music
television, religious programming and landmark events, after 8 years of producing the Welsh
hymn singing series Dechrau Cany Dechrau Canmol for S4C, the Welsh language television
channel.
Connie Fisher rose to fame playing the lead role of Maria in The Sound of Music at The
London Palladium having won How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?, Andrew Lloyd
Webber’s reality TV show for BBC One. She has released two solo albums and as an actress
has played a recurring role in the BBC medical drama Casualty whilst in the ITV drama
Caught In A Trap she played a young woman with an Elvis Presley obsession. Connie has
also taken to the world of presenting, having hosted Cardiff Singer of the World for BBC
Wales and fronted her own series for the BBC Connie’s Musical Map of Wales. She also
hosted a series of Connie’s People in 2012 and is a regular radio presenter having hosted her
own show for BBC Wales.
The guests:
Elin Manahan Thomas is a British soprano who dazzled an audience of more than a billion
viewers worldwide with her performance of Handel’s Eternal Source of Light Divine at the
London Paralympics Opening Ceremony.
As a presenter she has worked for BBC One
(Songs of Praise) and BBC Four (BBC Proms at the Albert Hall, Proms in the Park, Cardiff
Singer of the World), BBC Two Wales (Y Faenol) and S4C (Papa Haydn, Y Sopranos). She
has twice been nominated for a Welsh BAFTA as Best Newcomer and Best Presenter and
she hosts a weekly classical music show on Radio Cymru, as well as regularly presenting live
concerts for BBC Radio Three.
The Llandaff Cathedral Choir is the only professional Anglican cathedral choir in Wales.
Steve Balsamo is a Welsh singer and songwriter. Part of the Storys, he is perhaps best
known for playing the lead role in the London production of Jesus Christ Superstar during the
1990s.
Rosalie Deighton is a female singer/songwriter from the Deighton Family folk ensemble and,
together with Steve Balsamo, she has released two singles as Balsamo and Deighton.
st
Songs of Praise was first broadcast on BBC Television on Sunday 1 October 1961 and
came from the Tabernacle Welsh Baptist Church in Cardiff. It was due to run experimentally
for six weeks. Fifty-two years on the programme, which is the longest running religious TV
programme in the world, continues to showcase the very best in congregational hymn singing
and inspirational music, featuring the very best choirs and soloists from across the UK and
beyond. Interviews were introduced in 1977 to complement the hymn singing.