Friary return to Bookham - with Tea for Two and two toccatas!

Recent concertgoers at St Nicolas Church, Great Bookham were treated to Friary Brass Band’s broad programme of music, ranging from the percussion section’s feature of Howard Snell’s arrangement of Tea for Two and Widor’s Toccata from his Symphony no. 5 and the Toccata in D Minor by Bach.  Other highlights included Richard Straker’s stunning cornet solo of Chris King’s arrangement of Defying Gravity and a tenor horn solo of Alan Catherall’s arrangement of Evergreen, sensitively played by Morgan Marston, as well as Peter Graham’s Cartoon Music and Roger Deronge’s reflective Lux. 

This was Friary’s third appearance at the beautiful church which dates back to the 11th century: all three concerts have had a capacity audience who made their appreciation loud and clear.  ‘Wow!  What a fantastic evening of music,’ commented Nick Garrett on behalf of the church.’  ‘I can only begin to imagine the amount of sheer hard work which went into rehearsing that programme together and playing it to such an incredible standard,’ he concluded.

Friary MD Nigel Taken, who compèred the concert, was delighted:  ‘I recognise that the programme I devised was both challenging and ambitious, but I was confident that with the right guidance, level of preparation and rehearsal, the Band could produce the high standard of performance we achieved.’  ‘Friary is a fine band and I was proud to be able to showcase the players’ considerable musical talents.

Friary Chair David Wicks added:  ‘The Band love playing at St Nicolas:  it’s always wonderful to play to a full house with such an appreciative audience.’  The concert raised in excess of £1,000 towards improvements to the church.