Addicts' Symphony
Duration: 1 x 67'
Play Trailer Play Screener Contact Sales FormatThe highly respectable world of classical musicians is rarely linked to addictive behaviour. In this uplifting one-off feature length documentary, the composer and musician, James McConnel, examines music’s extraordinary transformative power as he unites ten classical musicians whose lives have all been blighted by addiction.
We follow the extraordinary personal journey of each member of the orchestra through to the nerve-wracking climax of the final performance with the London Symphony Orchestra.
In 2011, James’s son Freddy, an aspiring and talented musician, died of a heroin overdose. He was 18 years old. Blessed from an early age with an inquisitive and brilliant mind, Freddy was assed as a ‘gifted’ child at 6 with an IQ of 144. He won school scholarships, competed on Junior Mastermind and became a member of Mensa but it was in music that he found his true passion. Even as he slipped further into the drug dependency which would claim his life, music was his constant. His father, himself a recovering alcoholic, encouraged Freddy to keep up with his music as he recognised its restorative powers. Sadly for Freddy, it was not enough.
This original documentary is guided by James’ determination to save others like Freddy from a similar fate.
As he follows the personal journey of each member of the orchestra, James reveals their daily battles as they struggle against the grip of their addiction. From Rachael whose career as an award-winning cellist was nearly destroyed by her drink and drug problem to Andy whose heroin addiction has had a devastating effect on his relationship with his daughter Lea, each musician is pinning their hopes on recovering their love of music and, more significantly, retrieving a trust and pride in themselves.
For Channel 4
Also in this genre
Our Soldiers: Return To Civvy Street
Britain's America's Cup Challenge 4K
Retreat: Meditations From A Monastery
Stacey Dooley Investigates: Mums Selling Their Kids For Sex
Dr Xand's Con or Cure - Format
Doom Scroll: Andrew Tate & The Dark Side of the Internet
The Knowledge: The World’s Toughest Taxi Test
Stacey Dooley: Face to Face with The Bounty Hunters
Growing up Poor: Britain's Hidden Homeless Kids
Bring Back the Bush: Where Did Our Pubic Hair Go?
Jasmine Harman’s Renovation in the Sun
Britain's Child Drug Runners
Born On The Breadline
La Traviata - English National Opera
Heal Me In The Name Of Jesus
Deliveroo: How Do They Really Do It?
Sheridan Smith: Becoming Mum
Hannah Spearritt: Me & Breast Implants
Farther And Sun, A Dyslexic Road Trip
Kashmir's Torture Trail
The Beat Goes On!
The Barber Of Seville - English National Opera
Britain’s Refugee Children
Addicts' Symphony: Rhapsody For The Tamed
Carmen - English National Opera
Prisoners' Wives: Visiting Hours
Life On The Psych Ward
Living With My Supersized Pets
Stacey Dooley: On The Psych Ward
Growing Up Poor: Britain's Breadline Kids
Stacey Dooley Investigates: Spy Cam Sex Criminals
Benvenuto Cellini - English National Opera
The World’s Worst Place To Be Disabled?
Inside the Bruderhof
School of Hard Tricks
How To Be A Young Billionaire
The Mikado - English National Opera
Prison, My Parents And Me
Poundland: How Do They Really Do It?
Michael Palin In North Korea
Stacey Dooley Investigates: Sex In Strange Places
The Titan Sub Disaster: Minute by Minute
School of Hard Tricks - Format
Stacey Dooley Investigates: Kids Selling Drugs Online
Stacey and the Lockdown Babies
The Beckham Feud - Truth & Lies
Face The Consequences - Format
National Trust: My Historic Home
Living with the Boss - Format
Stacey Dooley: The Young And Homeless
Paul O'Grady's Little Heroes
Stacey Dooley Investigates: Gypsy Kids In Crisis
Christmas Carols From The London Coliseum
Stacey's Lockdown Heroes
Fake Homeless: Who's Begging On The Streets?
I Hate Jane Austen
The Pirates Of Penzance - English National Opera
Ross Kemp: On the NHS Frontline
of
Format Info
Addicts' Symphony
Musicians blighted by addiction undertake a programme of therapy to overcome their demons and perform again.
Series Duration: 1 x 67'
Resolution: HD
Genres: Arts & Human Interest
To Format