Tommy Tynan, the solo Eb tuba player with Black Dyke Band has been crowned the winner of the 2026 National Youth Brass Band of Great Britain Young Conductor Competition.

The 28-year-old from Saddleworth confidently directed a 35-minute rehearsal of combined NYBBGB and British Army Band Tidworth players on Peter Graham's 'Shine as the Light' to claim the honour.

Focussed purpose

His clear understanding of the score and ability to work with focussed purpose, secured the £750 first prize and also gain the opportunity to work as Assistant Conductor for the 2026 NYBBGB summer course and concert alongside Lieutenant Colonel Lauren Petritz-Watts.

The competition was supported by the British Army Music, with the pre-results entertainment provided by a quintet of musicians from the British Army Band Tidworth.

Victory rounded off a memorable, if exhausting couple of weeks for the former NYBBGB alumnus. He only returned home on Thursday after enjoying a six-day visit to work and perform alongside his friend Dr Boonyarit Kittaweepitak and students of the Brass Department at Mahidol University in Bangkok.

There he was able to conduct Eric Ball's 'Resurgam' — one of the four works the four finalists had to prepare for the competition. He also used the time on the long-haul flight home to prepare the other compositions, including Peter Graham's 'Dimensions' and Philip Sparke's 'Music for a Festival'.

Thanks

"I was very fortunate to be able to study the scores in depth on the flights to and from Bangkok," he said. "And I must thank Boonyarit for his generosity in allowing me to work on 'Resurgam' with his students — it was so beneficial."

He added: "My thanks also go to Prof Nicholas Childs at Black Dyke Band and Glyn Williams at Aldbourne in allowing me time to work on the other pieces ahead of competition. Their help and advice was invaluable."

The blind draw saw Tommy pick 'Shine as the Light' as the first contender of an enlightening competition between four talented finalists at different experience points in their conducting careers.

His focused preparation and clear rehearsal approach in tackling the tricky challenges posed by the score (especially its transitions and aleatoric section) were noted by the judges, Major Craig Bywater (Chief Instructor at the Royal Military School of Music) and Dr Robert Childs (NYBBGB Director of Artistic Planning).

Impressive

"It was impressive conducting — a nice mix of creating excellence through endeavour and enthusiasm from the players," Dr Childs told 4BR.

That was also noted by Major Bywater, who was also full of praise for the quartet of finalists. "Each showed, passion, flair and technique in fully engaging with the musicians," said Major Bywater. "All were very impressive and offered so much in how they expressed themselves through the music."

Fellow finalists were Ammal Bhatia aged 26, who is currently completing a Master's in Conducting at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, and who directed 'Music for a Festival' with polished ease, whilst 22 year old Joey Wong, a peripatetic brass teacher within Liverpool's Music Service and MD of YBS (Poynton) Band, confidently led on 'Dimensions'.

25 year old Glasgow-based conductor and trumpet player Megan Bousfield rounded off the quartet with a detailed appreciation of the transitional and stylistic difficulties of Eric Ball's 'Resurgam'.

I'm really looking forward to the future, and especially as a former playing member, in working with the National Youth Band their Summer course. These are amazing opportunities for meTommy Tynan

Looking forward

Although the winner has already packed a great deal into his brass banding career -graduating with First Class Honours from the University of Huddersfield and going on to perform with Oldham (Lees), Fairey and Cory, before his move the Black Dyke Band in 2025, he is now looking forward to balancing his playing and conducting in the future.

Tommy added: "I've been fortunate to tutor at Norway's Manger Folkehøgskule and worked with the Five Lakes Silver Band in the USA, and I'm really excited to direct Lostock Hall Memorial Band as MD, with the North West Areas coming up.

I'm really looking forward to the future, and especially as a former playing member, in working with the National Youth Band their Summer course. These are amazing opportunities for me."

Back home

For the time being though he has had to put immediate victory celebrations on hold as he put the glass trophy into his car and headed back home to prepare for a rehearsal with Black Dyke Band ahead of their appearance at the RNCM International Brass Band Festival in Manchester.