About Norfolk Wherry Brass

Norfolk Wherry Brass was formed in 2004 by a group of local musicians from across Norfolk and Suffolk who came together under the musical direction of Andy Craze, a member of the Band of the Dragoon Guards, based at Swanton Morley.

We rehearse at the state of the art New Victory Hall in Neatishead every Tuesday and Friday evening between 7:30 and 9:30.

History of the band

The band made its debut appearance in March 2005 at the London and Southern Counties Regional Contest held at Stevenage where they were awarded first place in section 4. Promotion to the 3rd section followed, together with an invitation to take part in the national finals at Harrogate where they were placed 5th overall.

In May 2005, the band won the East Anglian Brass Band Association (EABBA) contest for the second time securing them promotion to the local championship section. The following year, the band again won its section at the LSC Regionals and was promoted to the 2nd section, returning to Harrogate to compete for a second time in the National Finals.

However, being a member of Norfolk Wherry Brass isn’t just about competitions. Each year the band has held a number of concerts, often in association with local charities, raising money not only for themselves but helping such organisations as the Royal Air Force Association, HCPT – The Pilgrimage Trust, EACH, East Anglian Air Ambulance, RNLI as well as local churches.

In 2006, the Band of the Dragoon Guards was disbanded and Andy Craze was posted to another part of the country. Geoff Barber, who had played cornet and flugel horn in the band, kindly offered to take up the baton and under his leadership the band continued their competition success being placed 5th in 2007 in the second section of the LSC regionals. But in March 2008, Geoff Barber had to stand down as MD for personal reasons. Several music directors offered their assistance to the band but all were too busy to take the post full time. In November 2008 Linda Purdy, the band’s tenor horn player, made the commitment to direct the band until after the London and South Eastern Counties contest in March 2009.

After a brief spell of guest conductors, the band then engaged Kevin Hegarty as musical director in May 2009. After two successful appearances at the EABBA contest and numerous successful concerts with eclectic mixes of musical genres, Kevin stood down in early 2012 to concentrate on his playing commitments with other bands in the area.

2012 Success

After leaving the military, founding musical director, Andy Craze took that baton once again for the 2012 LSC Regionals in which we came second, qualifying for a place in the National Finals for the third time in our 8 year history. Andy took up the post full time following Kevin’s departure and we are preparing a bumper year of concerts and contests in 2012, the first being the EABBA contest in May.