About Rockabillies Groups
Children's Music Groups
There are many pre-school music groups around so what makes Rockabillies different?
At Rockabillies all of our music leaders are highly trained musicians and singers who play a variety of instruments each week introducing your child to the excitement of live music from an early age. This is proved to create a greater response in infants rather than listening to recorded music.
Using different themes, music and songs from all over the world along with puppets, colourful props and dozens of exciting instruments, you and your child will be sure to have a wonderful time each week. It is a joy to see how the children develop an understanding of pulse, pitch and general musicality at each session.
Rockabillies Adult Choir
The Rockabillies Choir is a fun choir meeting once a week to sing rock,folk, pop and many other genres of music. There is also a focus on understaning how to sing and use our voices effectively, learning to improve pitch, harmony and listening skills to create an overall beautifully blended sound with the choir. We sing along to live guitar accompaniment and often perform locally at charity and community events.
About Rockabillies Music Leaders
Rockabillies comprises of 4 music leaders Roma, Sally, Steph and Nicki.
Roma - Founder & Music Leader, choir accompanist
Before starting Rockabillies, Roma was an English teacher by day and a wannabe Rock star by night singing and playing her saxophone in various bands from original groups to 70s cover bands singing disco songs whilst clad in sequins and feathers! When her son Billy was born, life changed and as a result she put her platforms away and started Rockabillies where she fused her teaching experience with her love of live music and performance and created Rockabillies.
Roma has completed training in Makaton, the Kodaly method, paediatric first aid, safeguarding and special needs music from “I Can”. Over the last 17 years she has run music sessions for local nurseries, schools and pre-school groups, Lakeside Theatre and Broxtowe Borough Council. She also works for the "Speech, Sign and Song Club" with Wendy Prevezer which is a weekly music group in Beeston for children with social and communication difficulties.
Sally - Music Leader
Daughter of multi instrumentalist Kerry Minnear of respected and influential ’70’s progressive band Gentle Giant, Sally has been steeped in music throughout her life. After completing a music degree, Sally formed the acoustic duo ‘Creatures of Habit’ as a vehicle for her own songs before securing the featured vocalist role in Michael Flatley’s hugely successful follow up to ‘Riverdance’, his dance and music spectacular ‘Lord of the Dance’. Sally toured with the production for several years, before leaving to start a family. More recently Sally recorded some ethereal vocal parts for Dave Bainbridge of progressive Celtic rock band 'Iona', on his solo album release ‘Celestial Fire'. With two young boys of her own, Sally is passionate about the benefits that music and movement can bring to early years development, as well as the pure enjoyment of discovering new sounds and instruments!
Steph - Music Leader
Steph has always had a love of music, singing in a choir from a young age and learning a number of instruments. She continued to sing and dance throughout her childhood and after completing a degree at Nottingham Trent University, she went on to perform with both Nottingham and Carlton Operatic Societies at the Theatre Royal and Nottingham Playhouse in productions including 42nd Street, West Side Story and Summer Holiday. Steph has always enjoyed working with young people and worked as an Outreach Officer at Nottingham Trent University for a number of years, working with children of various ages. She also volunteered at her local Brownie pack for 7 years, where there was always lots of singing! Since having her three children, Steph has been an active member of the Beeston Mums' Choir (a choir where mums can sing while their children play) and Beeston Voices community choir. As a full time mum, she spent a lot of time singing with her own children and leading informal music groups with friends and their children in their homes. Now her twins are at school, Steph is delighted to have joined the Rockabillies team and is excited to be able to share her love of music with young children. It's her dream job!
Nicki - Choir Leader
Since joining the Rockabillies Choir as Leader in June 2015, Nicola has been thrown into a fabulous and exciting new world of Flash mobs, Concerts, Festivals, TV Auditions and Madonna Medleys - wonderful!
Nicola conducts the Rockabillies choir in rehearsals and performances. She begins each session with warm ups and exercises designed to strengthen and develop each singers’ vocal ability and awareness of pitch and rhythm, which in turn increases the overall sound quality and confidence of the choir as a whole.
Previously, Nicola attended Chetham’s School of Music and graduated from the Royal Northern College of Music with both undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in music and performance. She then toured as a professional Opera singer across Europe with Diva Opera.
Nicola enjoys singing and teaching all kinds of music, and is especially passionate about helping each person to enjoy their voice and reach their potential - to feel confident and proud of their singing.