Nicholas John Childs (born 7 October 1961) is a Welsh musician, conductor, composer and brass educator. Childs is known for his conducting of

brass band A brass band is a musical ensemble generally consisting primarily of brass instruments, most often with a percussion section. Ensembles that include brass and woodwind instruments can in certain traditions also be termed brass bands (particularl ...

s, winning numerous championships, his teaching at the university level, and his recordings of brass music. He is also the founder of two brass bands for children.

Life and career

Childs was born on 7 October 1961 in Wales. He started playing

baritone horn The baritone horn, sometimes called baritone, is 3 or 4 valved tenor-voiced brass instrument in the saxhorn family.Robert Donington, "The Instruments of Music", (pp. 113ff ''The Family of Bugles'') 2nd ed., Methuen, London, 1962 It is a pist ...

at a young age with guidance from his father John. Childs first performed with the Tredegar Junior Band and later the National Youth Brass Band of Great Britain. At age 16, Childs became the Welsh and British

Euphonium The euphonium ( ; ; ) is a tenor- and baritone-voiced valved brass instrument. The euphonium is a member of the large family of valved bugles, along with the tuba and flugelhorn, characterised by a wide conical bore. Most instruments have thr ...

Champion. In 1985, he was voted Euphonium Player of The Year. Childs and his brother Bob toured internationally as the Childs Brothers. They debuted in

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London, England. It has a seating capacity of 5,272. Since the hall's opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genres ...

in 1984. His playing career included being Principal Euphonium at

Grimethorpe Colliery Band The Grimethorpe Colliery Band is a brass band, based in Grimethorpe, South Yorkshire, England. It was formed in 1917, as a leisure activity for the workers at the colliery, by members of the disbanded Cudworth Colliery Band. Along with the Bl ...

and later the

Foden's Band Foden's Band (originally Foden's Motor Works Band, and variants with sponsors' names) is a Brass band (British style), brass band from Sandbach in Cheshire. The band derives its name from the Foden Trucks, Foden manufacturer of trucks in Sandba ...

. Later performance appointments included euphonium tutor at the

Royal Northern College of Music The Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM) is a conservatoire located in Manchester, England. It is one of four conservatoires associated with the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music. In addition to being a centre of music education ...

Salford University The University of Salford is a Public university, public research university in Salford, Greater Manchester, Salford, Greater Manchester, England, west of Manchester city centre. The Royal Technical Institute, Salford, which opened in 1896, be ...

and Huddersfield University. Currently, Childs is the conductor and music director for the award-winning,

Black Dyke Band Black Dyke Band, formerly John Foster & Son Black Dyke Mills Band, is one of the oldest and most well-known brass bands in the world. It originated as multiple community bands founded by John Foster at his family's textile mill in Queensbury ...

. Under his baton, the band has won three European Championships. Childs is married to Alison Childs, an administrator and brass instrumentalist. Their daughter Rebecca is also a

baritone A baritone is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the bass (voice type), bass and the tenor voice type, voice-types. It is the most common male voice. The term originates from the ...

instrumentalist. David Childs, the son of Bob Childs, is also a euphonium player.

Academic Awards

* Associate

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music (RCM) is a conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the undergraduate to the doctoral level in all aspects of Western Music including pe ...

(1995) * Fellow of the

London College of Music London College of Music (LCM) is a music school in London, England. It is one of eight separate schools that make up the University of West London. History LCM was founded in 1887 and existed as an independent music conservatoire based at ...

(1996) * Master of Arts University of Salford (1995) * Doctor of Musical Arts University of Salford (2002) * Honorary doctorate from

Leeds University The University of Leeds is a public research university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was established in 1874 as the Yorkshire College of Science. In 1884, it merged with the Leeds School of Medicine (established 1831) and was renamed ...

(2006) * Professor of music recording and performance at Leeds University (2009) * Professor at the

Senzoku Gakuen is a private educational institution in Kawasaki, Kanagawa, Japan. The institution operates a school of music, a junior college, primary and secondary schools, and a kindergarten. The first Senzoku Gakuen school, the Hiratsuka Sewing School f ...

Tokyo, Japan (2014) * Professor at the

(2016) * Fellow of the Royal Northern College of Music (2024)

Discography

To date Childs has conducted one hundred and sixty commercial CD recordings. His works have received "CD of The Year" on multiple occasions by the British Bandsman, Brass Band World magazine and 4barsrest.

Championships

Childs has won the following championships: * Three European Championships * Six National Championships * Three British Open Championships * Six Scottish Open Championships * Six Norwegian National Championships * Nine Scottish Championships * Thirty-Four Regional Championships * Four English Championships * One French National Championships * One Swedish National Championships * Three Grand Shields * One All-England International Championships * One Brass in Concert Championships

Yorkshire Youth Brass Band

Childs was the Founder of the Yorkshire Youth Brass Band. The YYBB is administered by Alison Childs.

National Children's Brass Band of Great Britain

The National Children's Brass Band was the concept of Nicholas Childs, who is the music director since 2006. The band is for brass players from age 8 to 14.

References

External links

IBBSS Profile Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Childs, Nicholas 1961 births Living people British brass bands British male conductors (music) Welsh composers Welsh male composers Welsh conductors (music) Brass band composers Brass band conductors Academics of the Royal Northern College of Music Euphonium players People from Saddleworth People from Tredegar People from Usk