David Childs DMA | Artistic Director
Described by The Observer as ‘a great ambassador for the euphonium, possessing an astonishing technique and an engaging stage presence’, David Childs is regarded as one of the finest brass musicians of his generation, touring extensively throughout Asia, continental Europe, and North America.
He has appeared as soloist with the BBC, Manchester and RTÉ Concert orchestras, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, Philharmonie Baden-Baden, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Sinfonia Cymru, Welsh National Opera, Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and many of the finest brass bands and military bands in both the UK and USA. He has made solo appearances at the Singapore International Festival, Harrogate International Festival, Cheltenham Festival, Melbourne International Festival, BBC Proms and New York Festival, given solo recitals at the Wigmore Hall, Purcell Room and Bridgewater Hall, and performed concertos at the Concertgebouw, Royal Albert Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Royal Festival Hall, Symphony Hall, Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall New York.
A keen advocate of new music, Childs has premièred sixteen concertos for euphonium including a Royal Albert Hall BBC Proms broadcast of Alun Hoddinott’s, Sunne Rising - The King Will Ride, a Carnegie Hall US première of Sir Karl Jenkins’ Concerto for Euphonium & Orchestra, a UK premiere of Christian Lindberg’s Concerto for Euphonium & Orchestra directed by the composer and a Welsh Proms world première of Paul Mealor’s Concerto for Euphonium & Orchestra. Last year (2022) he gave the first public performance of a new setting for euphonium of Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Concerto for Tuba at the Last Night of the Welsh Proms with the orchestra of the Welsh National Opera.
During his career as a euphonium soloist, Childs has received many awards in recognition of his achievements, including: Arts Council Wales Creative Wales Award; Worshipful Company of Musicians Silver Medal Award; Welsh Music Guild’s Leo Abse & Cohen Award; Harry Mortimer Trust Award; RNCM Principal’s Gold Medal Award; Making Music’s Dorothy Green Award; Musicians Benevolent's Sir Charles Leggett Award; Countess of Munster Star Award, and many more. He has also received several accolades as a recording artist, including two ITEA Excellence in Recording Awards, and can be heard on several labels including EMI, Deutsche Gramophone, Chandos, Doyen and World of Sound.
A proud product of the British brass band movement, Childs is a former member of several ensembles including the National Youth Brass Band of Great Britain, National Youth Brass Band of Wales, Brighouse and Rastrick, and Cory Band with whom he was Principal Euphonium for ten years under the baton of his father, Robert Childs.
In 2018 Childs was appointed Professor of Euphonium at the University of North Texas and holds positions as Visiting Professor at Tokyo’s Senzoku Gakuen College of Music and International Visiting Tutor at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. He is a founding member of Eminence Brass, founder of Cardiff Symphonic Winds, Editor of the Brass Band World Magazine, Artistic Director of Euphonium Foundation UK, and as a Buffet Crampon Besson Artist he continues to showcase the euphonium as a serious solo voice throughout the world.
