Director of Music

Ryan Watkins - Director of Music

Ryan is widely regarded as being one of the up and coming young conductors in the brass band world. A graduate of the Royal Northern College of Music, Ryan has been Music Director of Hepworth Band since 2019, leading the band to notable success, becoming Yorkshire Champions in 2026, earning qualification to the Finals of the National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain at the Royal Albert Hall (2021, 2025, 2026), qualification to the British Open (2023, 2026), wins at Dr Martin Trust Contest (2022), Red Admiral Entertainment Contest (2024) and Wychavon Contest (2024).

As a trombonist, Ryan has held the Principal Trombone position with both Fairey Band and Brighouse & Rastrick Band, as well as working in the orchestral world, performing with the Hallé Orchestra, Gilbert & Sullivan National Orchestra and the Manchester Camerata.

In 2012, Ryan was presented with the British Trombone Society “Young Trombonist of the Year” award and in 2014 progressed to the brass final of the BBC Young Musician of the Year competition.

Ryan is also Associate Conductor with the Swedish National Champions Gota Brass Band, leading them to the 2025 National title and at the 2026 European Championships in Linz.

As well as his extensive experience in performing and conducting , Ryan is a member of the Association of Brass Band Adjudicators (AoBBA) and has adjudicated at ‘ConsTest’ in both 2024 & 2025, the ‘Bold As Brass’ contest and further afield Aalborg Musikkonkurrence in Denmark.