Friary Brass has kept itself busy winning over new concert fans as they start to look forward to the Autumn series of major contest appearances at the National Final and Brass in Concert.

In fact there was a sold-out sign plastered across the billboarding for their recent appearance at St Nicolas Church in Great Bookham — with even the most sceptical listener won over.

New audiences

Band spokesperson Richard Straker told 4BR: "We've been working hard to attract new audiences and we perhaps got the best endorsement yet when one person came up to me and said that he had initially been "dragged along"by his wife, but by the close he was "on the edge of my seat and delighted by her decision"!

The concert saw the band provide a wide variety of genres — from 'Indiana Jones' to Rimsky Korsakov, Duke Ellington to Bach with the band's soloists all showcasing their talents.

St Nicolas was a new venue for us, so we were delighted that we filled the church to its absolute capacity and thrilled by the reception we received. The new convert fan was a great added bonus too!Friary Brass

Variety

"Our MD Nigel Taken wants us to really show audiences what a top brass band is capable of playing, so a classic overture such as 'Mill on the Cliff' is balanced against 'Manhattan Skyline', John Rutter with rousing favourites from 'Last Night of the Proms'."

He added: "St Nicolas was a new venue for us", percussionist Chris Atwood added, "so we were delighted that we filled the church to its absolute capacity and thrilled by the reception we received. The new convert fan was a great added bonus too!"