Friary Brass has announced the signing of Nigel Winter on cornet and Joe Latham on horn.

Return

Nigel initially joined the Friary Meux (Guildford) Band as it was then known, in 1987, playing cornet and horn. During his 25 years with Friary they progressed from the Fourth to Championship Section, winning the First Section National title in 2010.

In 2019 he joined Reading Spring Gardens on flugel horn, but felt he could not ignore the opportunity to re-join his former band. "I'm delighted to return," he said. "It's been great to catch up with old friends, and I look forward to once again being part of this group of very talented players."

Break return

Joe started playing cornet for the local junior band that his grandfather used to run, eventually progressing to principal cornet at Blackpool Brass. He then moved to horn, picking up a soloist prize at his first contest on the change of instrument.

A work saw him initially joining Sandhurst Silver but after a 11 year break, he is delighted to return to playing with Friary.

He said: "I had never played for a top band before and was very nervous, but coming back to playing made me realise how much I missed it. Playing with Friary has given me the motivation to play to the best of my ability."