# Nicholas Childs > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Nicholas_Childs > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Nicholas_Childs.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicholas_Childs > Source revision: 1346191320 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) **Nicholas John Childs** (born 7 October 1961) is a [Welsh](/source/Welsh_people) musician, conductor, composer and brass educator.[1] Childs is known for his conducting of [brass bands](/source/Brass_band), 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](/source/Baritone_horn) 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.[2] At age 16, Childs became the Welsh and British [Euphonium](/source/Euphonium) Champion. In 1985, he was voted International Euphonium Player of the Year.[3] Childs and his brother Bob toured internationally as the Childs Brothers. They debuted in [Royal Albert Hall](/source/Royal_Albert_Hall) in 1984. His playing career included being Principal Euphonium at [Grimethorpe Colliery Band](/source/Grimethorpe_Colliery_Band) and later the [Foden's Band](/source/Foden's_Band). Later performance appointments included euphonium tutor at the [Royal Northern College of Music](/source/Royal_Northern_College_of_Music), [Salford University](/source/University_of_Salford) and Huddersfield University. Currently, Childs is the conductor and music director for the award-winning, [Black Dyke Band](/source/Black_Dyke_Band). 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](/source/Baritone_horn) instrumentalist. His nephew, [David Childs](/source/David_Childs_(musician)), the son of Robert Childs, is also a euphonium player, recording artist, and professor of euphonium at [University of North Texas](/source/University_of_North_Texas).[4] ## Academic Awards - Associate [Royal College of Music](/source/Royal_College_of_Music) (1995) - Fellow of the [London College of Music](/source/London_College_of_Music) (1996) - Master of Arts University of Salford (1995) - Doctor of Musical Arts University of Salford (2002) - Honorary doctorate from [Leeds University](/source/University_of_Leeds) (2006) - Professor of music recording and performance at Leeds University (2009) - Professor at the [Senzoku Gakuen](/source/Senzoku_Gakuen) Tokyo, Japan (2014) - Professor at the [Royal Northern College of Music](/source/Royal_Northern_College_of_Music) (2016) - Fellow of the Royal Northern College of Music (2024) ## Discography To date Childs has conducted one hundred and sixty commercial CD recordings.[citation needed] His works have received "CD of The Year" on multiple occasions by the [British Bandsman](/source/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.[5] 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.[6] The band is for brass players from age 8 to 14. ## References 1. ["Prof. Nicholas Childs"](http://ibbss.com/2015/prof-nicholas-childs/). *The IBBSS*. Retrieved 2020-08-25. 1. Chaffey, Jessica (July 4, 2019). ["From the euphonium to Black Dyke Band..."](https://www.newspapers.com/article/county-gazette-from-the-euphonium-to-bla/194281139/). *[Somerset County Gazette](/source/Somerset_County_Gazette)*. p. 81. 1. ['Roll of Honour'](https://www.euphoniumplayeroftheyear.com/roll-of-honour), *International Euphonium Player of the Year*. Retrieved 15 November 2025. 1. ['Virtuoso – Music for Euphonium and Brass Band'](https://musicwebinternational.com/2025/04/virtuoso-music-for-euphonium-and-brass-band-naxos/), *MusicWeb International*. Retrieved 21 April 2025. 1. ["A Brief History | Black Dyke Band"](https://web.archive.org/web/20210305125032/https://www.blackdykeband.co.uk/content/brief-history). *www.blackdykeband.co.uk*. Archived from [the original](http://www.blackdykeband.co.uk/content/brief-history) on 5 March 2021. Retrieved 2020-08-25. 1. ["National Childrens Brass Band of Great Britain | 4barsrest.com reviews"](https://www.4barsrest.com/reviews/concerts/con315.asp). *www.4barsrest.com*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20211110045815/https://www.4barsrest.com/reviews/concerts/con315.asp) 10 November 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2020-08-25. ## External links - [IBBSS Profile Page](http://ibbss.com/2015/prof-nicholas-childs/) --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Nicholas Childs](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicholas_Childs) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicholas_Childs?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.