On Friday December 14, BBC Radio 4 will present the Listening Project Symphony, featuring a selection of intimate recorded conversations between friends, family and loved ones, submitted by the public and set to music by composer Gary Carpenter. The work will be performed live by the BBC Philharmonic for the programme, broadcast from MediaCityUK in Salford.

The chosen conversations have been collected from Radio 4’s Listening Project, which seeks to ‘capture the nation in conversation and build a unique picture of our lives today for future generations’. Some of the conversations will also be archived by the British Library.

Carpenter has created his ‘spoken symphony’ by grouping the conversations according to theme: the pains and pleasures of being a parent; the bluntness and honesty of close relationships; the sharing of memories; death and the conversations we wish we could have had with loved ones; and love – how we find one another and commit.

The Symphony will be broadcast at 7.15pm on December 14. For full details visit the Listening Project website.

Hear a conversation featured in the work below: