*
banner

All the King's Men...

Players from Friary Brass have played their part in the King's Birthday Parade and Armed Forces Week.

Friary
  Jack and Morgan (right) took part in the official celebrations

Amongst the 400 or so musicians that took part in the recent King's Birthday Parade were Friary Brass players Jack Beer and Morgan Marston.

Speaking about the occasion, Jack, who plays cornet with Friary is a musician in The Band of the Coldstream Guards, commented: "It's always a great because of the spectacle of it. It takes a good couple of months of rehearsing, and the actual parade is hard work, but it's all worth it in the end!"

Brilliant

Despite the hot weather, Friary tenor horn Morgan (far right) who plays French horn in The Band of the Grenadier Guards, relished the occasion. "I really enjoyed taking part in my third Trooping of the Colour.

It was brilliant to play in front of the King and an appreciative crowd!"

King's Cross

Earlier in the week, Jack had also been part of the Regiment's 375th anniversary march of The Coldstream Guards through Berwick.

100 soldiers from Number 3 Company, 'The Spotty Dogs', of the 1st Battalion Coldstream Guards, accompanied by the Band of the Coldstream Guards, marched across the station concourse at King's Cross in London shortly after 6.00am to the surprise and delight of early morning commuters.

Jack added: "This was a new one for me and a great experience to be part of — setting off at 4.00am in full uniform and not taking it off till 9.00pm. It meant so meant to the Regiment."

It's always a great because of the spectacle of it. It takes a good couple of months of rehearsing, and the actual parade is hard work, but it's all worth it in the end!Jack Beer

Armed Forces Week

In addition to the contribution to the armed forces Friary cornet player Simon Persin once again played his part in Guildford's flag-raising ceremony to mark Armed Forces Week.

As part of the service, Simon played a fanfare on the Guildhall balcony before the flag was raised.

He stated: "It's always an honour to be part of this notable occasion, all the more so with some fellow Friary players in HM Forces and at this time of various tensions in the world."

Become a supporter and help make our future secure.

4barsrest continues to be a proudly independent voice. There are no paywalls to overcome to be able to enjoy what we do to keep our journalism at the heart of the brass banding world. Support us with a one-off donation or subscribe from just £2.50 per month.

Support us    


British Open

Result: 2026 Spring Festival Grand Shield

May 3 • Milnrow claims the Grand Shield honours to return to the British Open with Hepworth joining them.


British Open

Result: 2026 Spring Festival Senior Cup

May 2 • Kirkintilloch claims the Senior Cup honours as Rainford, Tongwynlais Temperance and East London Brass join them in the Grand Shield in 2027.


2026 Spring Festival

Result: 2026 Spring Festival Senior Trophy

May 2 • Sandhurst Silver claims the Senior Trophy honours as Sovereign Brass, Unite Scotland Kinneil and Yorkshire Imperial are also promoted to the Senior Cup.


Fleetwood

Fleetwood back on demand

May 1 • You can enjoy all 32 performances from the recent Fleetwood Contest on demand


Regent Hall Concerts - Royal Greenwich Brass Band

Sunday 3 May • St Alfege Church. Greenwich Church Street SE10 9BJ


Regent Hall Concerts - FiveBy5 Trumpet Quintet

Tuesday 5 May • Charlton House and Gardens. Charlton Road, . London. . SE7 8RE


Regent Hall Concerts - Royal Greenwich Brass Band

Friday 8 May • Regent Hall. (The Salvation Army). 275 Oxford Street. London W1C2DJ


Wardle Anderson Brass Band - Wardle Junior Blast

Friday 8 May • Milnrow Parish Church, 16 Westward Ho, Milnrow, Rochdale OL16 3JX


Regent Brass - Woodbridge Excelsior Band and Russell Gray

Saturday 9 May • The Salvation Army (Regent Hall), Oxford Street, London W1C 2DJ


Bilton Silver Rugby Band

May 3 • The band requires an Eb bass player for our First section band conducted by Jack Fisher. . We have a varied and expanding programme of events throughout the year, including our very well attended, themed concerts.


Bilton Silver Rugby Band

May 3 • The band requires a Cornet player (Position negotiable) for our First section band conducted by Jack Fisher.. We have a varied and expanding programme of events throughout the year, including our very well attended, themed concerts.


Wellington Silver Band (Somerset)

May 2 • Bb Basses. With Colin Dance now appointed as our MD and our other Bb Bass leaving due to work commitments, we have openings for two Bb basses. We are a friendly community (4th section?) band with a variety of gigs including our own Proms in the Park.


David W. Ashworth

RSCM, ABBA Exec Member, NABBC PRO.
Conductor, Band Trainer and Adjudicator


               

 © 2026 4barsrest.com Ltd