In April this year TVNZ’s Sunday morning hymn programme, Praise Be, turned a quarter of a century old and is celebrating its 25th year by releasing a choral CD.

Praise Be began from a studio in Dunedin in 1986 and since then has featured the singing talents of an estimated 47,000 people.

The show’s host, Chris Nichol, has been there almost since its beginning. “I’ve been with Praise Be since 1986 when I started work with TVNZ as the associate producer for religious programmes. Praise Be had begun in Dunedin earlier in the year.”

Mr Nichol worked as the script advisor for Graeme Thomson, who hosted the show for its first 20 years until he retired. “When Graeme retired around five years ago I was asked if I wanted to host. I was very surprised and flattered to be asked but I was sorry to see Graeme go,” he says. “Twenty-five years is a great landmark for Praise Be. It’s one of New Zealand’s longest running TV programmes and for New Zealand on Air to be glad to support a programme of Christian praise for 25 years is a great testimony to its value.”

The show itself has seen some changes.

“Lots to do with the technology has changed,” explains Mr Nichol. “It’s a much more fluid programme to make than it used to be. In the early years many of the hymns were taken from the UK but all the hymns are now recorded in New Zealand, which is significant. Also now the words appear on the screen, which is a really good thing and allows people to participate.”

As the UK’s hymn programme Songs of Praise looks to take a change in direction and add other religions into its content, Mr Nichol assures Kiwis that Praise Be will not be following suit. “It is quite unapologetically a Chris-tian programme,” he says. “Praise Be is a Christian music programme and will always be that.”

However the show is beginning to see more Maori, Pacific and Asian choirs being added to its repertoire.

“There’s a real breadth of musical tradition,” says Mr Nichol. “Choral singing is the second most participated activity in New Zealand after gardening. The quality of choirs we have is extremely high.”

It is this high standard that attracts an average of 70,000 viewers each week and, as the series continues to travel around the country, brings out overwhelming and continuing encouragement.

“We love the support we get,” says Mr Nichol.

“Every town we go to people are so encouraging and keen to be involved. We would like to record more often outside the studio.”

The compilation album, also called Praise Be, will feature a selection of the choirs that have performed on the TV show over the years. It is set to be released on November 28.

Mr Nichol believes that putting together a CD is a fantastic idea, which will help to keep the programme current by showcasing some more contemporary hymns.

“The whole initiative for the CD is an exciting one; with the music on there people can continue to listen to the Praise Be themes after the programme has finished on a Sunday morning,” he says.