Watson Brass Band

The Triangle Youth Brass Band, located in Raleigh, North Carolina, was formed in 1997 as an expansion of the Triangle Brass Band’s educational endeavors. The organization consists of four ensembles: the Triangle Youth 'J. Perry Watson' Brass Band, Triangle Youth Brass Band, Triangle Youth Academy Brass Band, and Triangle Youth Percussion Ensemble, and serves over 100 of the Triangle’s most talented young musicians. The mission of the TYBB is to provide engaging, transformative musical experiences to the finest high school brass and percussion players through exceptional performance in the British Brass Band medium. Over the past two decades, the TYBB has grown into one of the premier youth brass band programs in the United States. The Triangle Youth Brass Bands typically perform three concerts annually. Additionally, the groups often travel and perform outside the Triangle area of North Carolina. Directors have taken the bands to the NABBA Championships, where they earned First Place Honors in the Youth Division in 2001, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2009, and 2022 through 2025. The bands were featured performers at the Great American Brass Band Festival in 2003, the City of Greensboro’s Independence Day fireworks celebration in 2006 and 2008, and have performed with the Georgia Brass Band, US Coast Guard Band, Dallas Brass, Presidio Brass, Triangle Wind Ensemble, and Concert Singers of Cary. The TYBB program is comprised of approximately 100 brass and percussion students, in grades 9-12, who share a commitment to excellence in performance. Since 1997 the TYBB has represented high schools in Wake, Durham, Orange, Johnston, Cumberland, and Nash counties.