New Northamptonshire charity-focused male choir born from lockdown aims for repertoire from ‘Mozart to Coldplay’

The choir, which aims to raise vital funds for local charities, was born out of lockdown.

A new male choir, which was set up as a way to keep members busy during lockdown, is aiming to raise funds for Northamptonshire charities with a wide ranging repertoire.

Nene Male Ensemble first started with four friends, who had all previously been part of a choir, during the first national lockdown as they wanted to find a way to carry on singing.

Since then, the choir has grown and has linked up with a musical director, who all meet via Zoom fortnightly to rehearse.

The choir is currently building up its repertoire to include music from ‘Mozart to Coldplay’, before hopefully playing its first concert in April or May next year.

Chairman, Bob Garrett, said: “We wanted to do something more than the usual get together online.

“We wanted to find a way to continue signing and keep ourselves busy.

“We then needed to come up with a name and the River Nene runs through Northamptonshire so that was a good connection with all of us.”

Before they start performing in public, the eight-man choir is looking to expand to sound more like an orchestra.

The choir is looking for between four and six more people to join to make a maximum of a 14-man team.

Bob added: “We are looking to get more people involved and it’s not necessary to have singing experience, as we can help them.

“They just need to be interested in singing and music.

“We do anything from light opera to modern pop, so it really is Mozart to Coldplay.

“We are working hard putting our repertoire together so we can go out for the first time and sing in public hopefully in April or May next year.”

Nene Male Ensemble is also currently completing the process to become a registered charity to enhance the work it does with good causes.

“The whole idea of the choir is to have some fun, provide entertainment and raise some money for charities and causes in Northamptonshire,” Bob continued.

“Hopefully the outcome will be us doing something good for charities as soon as we can start raising money.

“It was all born out of the first lockdown and it’s something positive to come out of all this.”

To become part of the choir, visit the website to get in touch with Bob and the other members.

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