New signings for Friary

Friary is pleased to announce two new signings, Nigel Winter on cornet, who returns after an absence of six years, and Joe Latham on tenor horn.

Nigel began playing the cornet aged eight, joining the Camberley Silver Junior Band after taking lessons from Gerallt Hughes, its conductor and a local school music teacher.  Progression into the main band followed and he played there for 14 years moving onto flugel horn in the latter years.  After a short break, he joined the Friary Meux (Guildford) Band as it was known in 1987.

Apart from a couple of years when there was a vacancy in the tenor horn section, Nigel played cornet during his 25 years with Friary, with the band progressing from the 4th section to the Championship section, his highlight being winning the 1st section National Finals in 2010. 

In 2019 he joined the Reading Spring Gardens Brass Band on flugel horn but felt he could not ignore the opportunity to re-join Friary.  ‘I’m delighted to return to the Friary Band,’ said Nigel.  ‘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,’ he added.

Joe started playing at the age of seven for a local junior band that his grandad used to run.  Two years later he joined the training band for Blackpool Brass, moving on to the senior band on cornet two years later, playing at various contests and the Whit Friday marches. The band took top honours at his first concert having progressed to principal cornet, and he was also awarded the soloist prize when he moved on to tenor horn. A work move down to the South in 2014 saw Joe initially joining Sandhurst Silver but there was little time available.  Now after a 11 year break, he was approached to join Friary Band. ‘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,’ he concluded.