A choir concert organised by Bestwood Male Voice Choir that took place in Hucknall over the weekend raised £1300 for charity.

The money raised will be donated to the fund for 7-year-old Leila Hallam, from Calverton, who was diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma in October.

Leila, the daughter of Notts County's head groundsman, Matthew Hallam, is currently undergoing treatment for the aggressive and rare disease which fewer than 60 children in the UK are diagnosed with each year.

The fundraiser was started to collect enough money to allow the Hallam family to take Leila to Disneyland once she was fit enough.

However, the target of £20,000 has already been surpassed and the family have pledged to give the additional money to the Rhabdomyosarcoma clinical trial. Anyone still wishing to donate can do so by clicking here.

The event took place at Central Methodist Church on Baker Street in Hucknall on Saturday evening (12 March).

The choir performed a number of pieces from their repertoire, which featured popular contemporary songs such as Coldplay's Viva la Vida and Take That's Shine as well as more traditional arrangements.

The audience were treated to performances from two choirs as Rolls-Royce Ladies Choir from Derby also performed, in what was their first concert since the Coronavirus pandemic struck British shores in March 2020.

The evening began on a reflective note. The audience were asked to stand as a mark of respect whilst the Ukrainian national anthem was played over the church's sound system to show support for the war-torn nation which was invaded by Russia just over a fortnight ago. As the final note sounded, the audience burst into applause.

Speaking exclusively to Hucknall Nub News, choir member John Pritchard, one of the main organisers of the event, said: "I thought the concert itself went very well, I thought the choir sang well.

"Every single penny that was raised at the concert went to the charity.

"The major thing that touched me last night was the spontaneous response by the audience to the playing of the Ukrainian national anthem. That was totally surprising, and it lasted for a fair while."

The choir received rave reviews by musical directors of other choirs that were present in the audience which Mr Pritchard was pleased with. He is hopeful that this sort of feedback will encourage people to join, thus increasing their numbers.

"When I joined in 2003, we'd got some 75 members and now we're down to 40 odd and I think there were only 28 or so there on Saturday night. But considering the size of the choir, I thought that the sound that they made was extremely good.

"We are looking for new members of any age. We don't have auditions or anything like that. We just put people next to an experienced singer and decide what part they should sing if they don't know themselves."

The choir meets every Tuesday evening at Bestwood Social Club from 7:30-9:30. For further information about the choir see here.