NotaBene came into existence in the summer of 1997, being collectively launched upon the fearful tide of a cappella singing by the then Bristol School of Vocal Studies, which gave them a hefty shove and then promptly disappeared into the bushes. The somewhat bewildered crew at this point consisted of Kate Powell and Sue Revell (soprano), Helen Jacobs and Lisa Mason (alto), Richard Kamm (tenor) and Kevin Hollis (bass).

After a period of wild experimentation, the group settled on the types of repertoire they enjoyed, and could also manage to learn, recruited new members to reach a 'normal' size of 8 singers, and finally embarked on the perils of off-book performance. A series of different styles of performance followed over a decade: concerts, shows, even some very odd plays, using madrigals, show tunes and barbershop (sometimes all three together). Learning Helen's arrangement of the Shakespeare lines 'Sigh no More, Ladies' as 16th Century barbershop, with accomanying footwork, has struck terror into the hearts of a series of male singers.

More recently, the life paths of some members led to them leaving for new careers and/or trainee opera singing. After an intermission, a successful recruitment campaign has seen the group back up to strength. Helen, Lisa and Richard remain from the original crew, but the new lineup features a variety of exciting talent in all sections, as seen in the singers listing. However, rest assured that we remain committed to providing a jolly good evening’s entertainment at a reasonable price.