Ellie Watson

Ellie’s musical interest comes from her dad and his playing background, when she heard her dad pick up a tenor horn after coming out of retirement she knew she wanted to follow in his footsteps and become a brass band musician.

When Ellie’s dad found an old cornet for her to play, she jumped at the chance to start lessons and to learn the basics in music. A year or so later, when she started high school, she had already reached Grade 4 standard and started recieving lessons off Mark Sidwell and Michael Dodd, two well known names in the brass band movement. Graduating high school she was ready to do her ABRSM Grade 8, taught by euphonium player Toni Durrant.

After playing tenor horn for a few years, in 2012, Ellie went and joined her first youth brass band, Elland Silver Youth Band, on 2nd Horn and before long she was promoted to principal Solo Horn where she stayed for the remainder of her time in the band. Whilst there she led her section to be awarded ‘Best Horn Section’ at a national entertainment competition 2 years in a row. After becoming a loving and loyal member of the band she decided to challenge herself and joined Knottingley Silver Band in December 2013 on 2nd Horn, where she worked in a solid team of fine players for a good number of years. This banding experience alongside personal dedicated practice, got her to a standard where she gained entry into the National Youth Brass Band of Great Britain, attending 6 courses. In 2016 she gained entrance into the Royal Northern College of Music after deciding she wanted to extend her love and passion for music and brass band playing into a life long commitment. After auditioning at the start of her second year at the RNCM, Ellie accepted the 1st horn position at Wingates Brass Band, where she remains and looks forward to the opportunities they can give her in the years to come.