Friary Brass Band

07/06/2026

🎶 🇫🇷 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 🎶
Less than a month until our next concert. We’ll be heading to Pinglestone Barn in Alresford, for what will be a great night of Anglo-French music. We’ll be joining forces with Muriele French Singer.
Tickets are still available but they won’t be around for long, so grab yours now

https://www.zeffy.com/en-GB/ticketing/entente-cordiale-concert

17/05/2026

17/05/2026

Really enjoyable concert today on Godalming Bandstand. And the weather was kind to us, timing the downpour to start just after we’d finished ☔️
A lovely, appreciative audience came out to watch, and were treated to a varied programme 🎶
A shout out to Gareth Trott for taking us today - thank you for covering for Andrew!

17/05/2026

We’re off to Godalming today, with a great programme of music ready to entertain the crowds.
We’re keeping our fingers crossed that the rain stays away and we can play on the wonderful bandstand.
Come and join us from 3pm this afternoon

15/05/2026

We’ll say farewell to Ian on Sunday, when we perform at Godalming Bandstand, and he’ll be very much missed in the band room

The vastly experienced Ian Stewart has decided to call time on his playing with Friary Brass.

13/05/2026

Due to family and work relocations we currently have vacancies for:
- Cornet (position negotiable)
- Eb bass (position negotiable)
- Tuned percussionist

We’re an ambitious, committed and sociable band, under new MD Andrew Porter.

We rehearse on a Monday and Wednesday evening in Chertsey, just 5 minutes from M25, junction 11.

Apply in confidence to [email protected], or get in touch for more information or a chat.

04/05/2026

Reflecting on our trip to Birmingham this weekend for the Grand Shield…
We’re delighted with our 7th place, in such a strong field.
It was a performance we’re proud of, having delivered exactly what our MD asked for, which was evident in our adjudicator’s remarks.
Super proud of our soloists who always deliver, alongside everyone else in Team Friary who gave it their all on stage yesterday.
A great first contest performance under our new MD, Andrew Porter…looking forward to our future together!
Congratulations to our fellow L&SC bands; Sandhurst Silver Band for their win, and East London Brass for their promotion

02/05/2026

We’ve finished our final rehearsal and on the road to Birmingham, ready for the Grand Shield contest.

Looking forward to getting on stage tomorrow in the new venue at Birmingham Town Hall, and performing Star Crossed Lovers with our new MD Andrew Porter.

Good job the Town Hall stage is big as we’ll need a lot of space for our unusual set up! 😉

22/03/2026

🎶 CONTEST DAY 🎶
We’re off to sunny Stevenage to take part in the L&SC Championship section regional contest.
We’re looking forward getting on stage later to perform Elgar Variations.
Good luck to everyone competing, and look forward to catching up with friends in the bar! 🍻

05/03/2026

CAPTAIN ANDREW PORTER TAKES THE BATON AT FRIARY

Friary Brass Band is pleased to announce Captain Andrew Porter as its new Musical Director. A euphonium player who enlisted in the British Army in 2003, Captain Porter graduated from Kneller Hall in 2011, earning awards for academic excellence and conducting. He has since served as Bandmaster of the Band of the Irish Guards and Director of Music for British Army Band Tidworth.

Now Director of Music to the Grenadier Guards, he has led performances for state visits by Presidents Emmanuel Macron, Donald Trump, and Volodymyr Zelensky, among others. Career highlights include designing and delivering large-scale performances for the FA Cup Final and the British Grand Prix. This year is a Grenadier Guards Trooping the Colour at the King's Birthday Parade and Andrew has been pivotal in the selection of music, including arranging a piece himself.

''I am thrilled to be taking on the baton with Friary,” he said. “From our very first conversations, it has felt like a perfect match. There is a shared vision and ambition that makes this an incredibly exciting opportunity.” Looking ahead, he is eager to begin work with the band as they prepare for the next chapter. “I’m very much looking forward to working closely with the band as we build towards competing at major contests and achieving our full potential together.”

Friary Chairman David Wicks added: “We were impressed with the level of interest we received for the role, and after a detailed interview and audition process which involved all Friary players, we considered that Andrew was the best candidate overall. He particularly impressed us with the programmes he devised, and his military music credentials speak for themselves. We are looking forward with great excitement to working with Andrew after the Regional contest in this new chapter in Friary’s history.”