About Us
The National Youth and Children’s Concert Bands were founded to nurture talented young woodwind, brass and percussion players of all backgrounds from across the UK, and as a flagship for promoting the wind band and its vibrant and varied repertoire.
Our young musicians are tutored and conducted by some of the UK’s leading professional musicians and educators, who are all specialists in their field. Our music tutors have a broad range of experience teaching at highly respected institutions, as well as performing as soloists, playing in professional orchestras and working in the West End. In recent years, we have welcomed guests including Jess Gillam, Paul Harris and Issie Barratt to lead workshops for our young musicians. The Spring 2024 course featured Helen Vollam (Principal Trombone of the BBC Symphony Orchestra) as guest soloist, playing Kirkfeld by Grant Kirkhope.
Playing in the National Youth and Children's Concert Bands gives our players the opportunity to experience new music and always enjoy working on contemporary repertoire by composers including Nigel Clarke, Nicola Renshaw, Johan de Meij and Kenneth Hesketh. In 2021, NYCB performed the world premiere of “Now You Can Believe”, written for NYCB by Anne Chmelewsky and look forward to commissioning more new work for the genre in the future.
We also take great pride in our dedicated team of qualified pastoral staff, who are on-site 24/7 to make sure everyone is happy and healthy, putting on entertainment in the evenings and providing any support that’s needed. Safeguarding and the well-being of our course members is of primary importance to the National Youth Concert Band CIC.
Directors
Jonathan Parkes
Sarah Pannell
Jonny Watkins
Our 2024 Tutors
NYCB
Musical Director - Jonathan Parkes
Brass - David Chatterton
Wind - Dom Childs
Percussion - Mark Concar
Specialist Tutors
Flute- Clare Childs
Oboe - Hannah Morgan
Clarinet - Emily Wilson
Bassoon - Kim Murphy
Saxophone - Sarah James & Dom Childs
French Horn - Richard Wainwright
Trumpet - Angela Whelan and David Chatterton
Trombone - Robb Tooley and Jonny Watkins
Tuba and Euphonium - Nick Etheridge
Percussion - Mark Concar and Richard Charles
NCCB
Musical Director - Adam Broughton
Brass - Jonny Watkins
Wind - Sarah James
Percussion - Richard Charles
© Copyright 2024
National Youth Concert Band CIC | Registered in England number 11665172
Our Musical Director Jonathan Parkes grew up in the brass band world and played Principal Trombone for the Rotherham Schools Youth Brass Band and the National Youth Brass Band of Great Britain before going on to study at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester under Chris Houlding and Andrew Berryman.
Whilst at the RNCM he started his career as a freelance trombonist working with the Halle Orchestra and went on to work with all the professional orchestras in the North West of England, including the Manchester Camerata, BBC Philharmonic, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Opera North and Northern Ballet. In 2004 he played Principal Trombone for the Philharmonia of the Nations in Germany, touring Europe and South Africa. Jonathan has taught all over the Greater Manchester region since 2001 and began tutoring and directing music courses shortly after and began conducting in 2005.
His first full time appointment came in 2011 when he was appointed musical director of the Dobcross Youth Brass Band. The following year he was appointed MD of the National Children’s Wind Orchestra – a prestigious residential course performing concerts in venues such as the Cadogan Hall, Royal College of Music and Saffron Hall. In 2016 he was delighted to be appointed Musical Director of the Werneth Concert Band. In September 2023, Jonathan was appointed to the role of Head of Prep School Music at Hulme Grammar School, Oldham.
Dr Sarah Pannell is Assistant Head of Sixth Form and Head of Biology at Crompton House School, an 11-18 CofE school in Oldham.
Sarah joined the pastoral staff of NYCB for the first course in 2019 and was appointed Director in June 2024, when founding Director Kathryn Wood stepped down to focus on starting her career in Law.
Having grown up in a family that encouraged music, Sarah learned to play the clarinet from primary school, adding bassoon from Year 8 as her music teacher was a bassoon specialist. Although she didn't take academic Music further than GCSE Sarah continued playing through her A Levels and time at Sussex University, where she studied Biochemistry, including playing in the pit bands for Musical Theatre Society productions.
Following her PhD, Sarah worked for Brighton University STEM Outreach programme, organising and hosting events, both within the university and across Sussex, for schools to engage young people in science, technology, engineering and maths. She qualified as a Science Teacher in 2012 and started her career at Lingfield College. Sarah started playing saxophone regularly during her time at Lingfield, when the Head of Music asked her to join the planned Jazz Band tour of Germany.
When Sarah and her husband Rob moved to Manchester in 2017, she looked for something that would help her meet people outside work. She joined Werneth Concert Band on tenor sax and helped revive (though definitely does not conduct) its Swing Band later that year.
Course Director and Senior Tutor in Brass Jonny Watkins has been playing the trombone since the age of 7. He studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama with Eric Crees and Simon Wills and with Don Lucas at Boston University during which time he toured extensively with the European Union Youth Orchestra and won the International Trombone Association Quartet Competition with the Spitfire Trombone Quartet. From 2011-13 Jonny was the Principal Trombone in the Hong Kong Sinfonietta and, in the 2017 season, was Associate Principal Trombone in the National Centre for Performing Arts Orchestra in Beijing, China. He has trialled for positions in many of the UK’s leading orchestras, including the BBC Philharmonic, Royal Philhamonic Orchestra and the Royal Ballet Sinfonia.
Jonny was the trombone section tutor for both the National Youth Wind Ensemble of Great Britain and the Hampshire County Youth Wind Ensemble and has led masterclasses at the Hong Kong Baptist University and twice at the Conservatorio Profesional de Musica Xoan Montes in Lugo, Spain.
In his spare time, Jonny can be found enjoying a good pub quiz or screaming at the TV in frustration when his beloved Arsenal are playing...
