A history of Ascot Brass

Our band’s history begins in 2001, when a group of brass-playing friends came together to provide music at a wedding in Frimley, Surrey. 

After the last guests had gone home, the friends decided to remain together as a brass ensemble and arranged to rehearse twice a week at a church in Ascot. Thus ‘Ascot Brass’ was formed!

As the group’s reputation spread, other players asked to join and, within a year, the group had grown to the size of a full brass band of 25 or so members.

The band spent their initial years playing at fetes and celebratory events until one day, following a concert at a school in Ascot, they were approached by an audience member who was a senior executive at Ascot Racecourse. Ascot Brass were invited to play a premier race meeting, the racecourse’s prestigious ‘Diamond Day’. It was from this moment that the band’s association with the racecourse began. 

In October 2005, the band arranged and presented its first concert, which was held at Windsor Parish Church. The concert, which also featured Berkshire Junior Choirs and the Corps of Drums of the High Wycombe Sea Cadets, commemorated the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar and was played to an overflow capacity audience.

Over the years, Ascot Brass has performed a number of concerts to raise funds for charities, as well as at a number of events at Ascot racecourse, including the commissioning performance on the racecourse’s new bandstand and the arrival of the Olympic Flame at Ascot in 2012. They also became the first non-military band to play at Royal Ascot. 

The band has also developed a close relationship with Taplow Youth Choir, with whom they perform together each year at their annual Christmas Concert, ‘Sounds of Christmas’. This is one of the band’s favourite events of the year, and has gained a large regular following in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead. 

To this day, the members of Ascot Brass play because we love making music together. If you’d like to share in the experience, you can find a list of our upcoming engagements on the Concert page.