Hitting the right notes for charity

A group of young professionals who came together four years ago through their love of music are hitting the right note with audiences right across the East Midlands.

West Bridgford-based Note-ability’s tuneful blend of popular songs and classics – usually performed without musical accompaniment – range from the Bare Necessities and Beatles to motets and madrigals. Their performances also carry an extra element of surprise – for the average age of the group is just 29.

Their barber shop music, folk tunes and close harmonies may be a far cry from the Spice Girls, but the close-knit group of friends who make up Note-ability have spiced up many a wedding reception and concert since their launch - raising around £1,000 for charity.

Sixteen trained voices hold the secret of Note-ability’s success – the group is made up of four basses, four altos, four tenors and four sopranos.

The original nucleus of members was from the West Bridgford area, but they now draw on talent from across Nottingham. Two founder members are husband and wife, Malcolm and Sam Cocking of Carnaervon Road in West Bridgford.

Malcolm explained: “Sam and I were both Nottingham University students doing chemistry and music respectively. We used to be members of West Bridgford Operatic Society but after a while decided we would like to do something that concentrated more on the classical music side and less on acting. One day we were sitting in a cafe in Nottingham with two other friends, David Essex and Caroline Palmer who is now our musical director.

“The conversation turned to the possibility of starting our own choir and we began writing down the names of any friends we could think of with a musical interest and we approached all of them.”

The meeting laid the foundation stone for Note-ability who still meet for rehearsals at their original ‘home’, Musters Road Methodist Church.

Their first booking was at the wedding of one of Malcolm’s colleagues at the Nottingham Evening Post where he then worked.

He said: “He asked us to sing at his wedding before the group was formed and before hearing us sing - we owe him a great deal!”

Since then the group has gone from strength to strength, despite the youth of its members. Malcolm, who now works in promotions for Northcliffe Newspapers, based at the Derby Telegraph, explained:

“Surprisingly few people have moved away from the Nottingham area, which I am told is not that unusual for Nottingham University.”

Even parenthood has not stopped the show. He and Sam are now the parents of two children, and musical director Caroline Palmer recently had a daughter. But the group still meet for weekly rehearsals every Monday evening and are in great demand at weddings as well as giving around six concerts a year.

“Almost every performance we give has an element of fund-raising for charity,” explained Malcolm. “We will prepare a programme of music and very often churches, centres or organisations will approach us to perform as a way of raising money.”

From Nottingham Evening Post, April 1998.