A divorced woman moves to San Francisco from Omaha after her divorce. Leaving her young son with his grandmother while trying to build her life again, she joins the choir of a local church. A tough, curmudgeonly, perfectionist choirmaster (John Houseman), is hired and attempts to whip the choir into shape for a Christmas concert. The choir group overcomes issues including ageism, racism, teen angst, small group divas, middle-aged relationships, single parenthood, the plight of struggling low income churches, and replacing the old with the new. Slow-paced, but with issues that still ring true today. A must view for any adult choir group.

Ephraim Adams:
Mrs. Burns is right, of course; you are amateurs, unlike certain pseudo-professionals like myself who insist on slave wages. Your voluntary and steadfast attendance at these rehearsals fully qualifies you for any definition of the word "amateur". What Mrs. Burns and many others are wrong about is the meaning of the word, which has to do with motivation, not quality. Remember "amo, amat, amas", the Latin verb "to love". The meaning of "amateur" is "he or she who does a thing for the love of it". There is no higher reason for singing than the love of doing it. In that respect, you do qualify as amateurs. And I salute you for it.

by Georg Friedrich Händel