Although 2017 has seen euphonium virtuoso David Childs cross the Atlantic Ocean seven times to visit the United States, his last trip of the year saw him add another new destination to his bulging passport.

Making his first appearance in Dallas, Texas, David was invited to be the guest soloist at 'Christmas with The Salvation Army', whilst he held a series of masterclasses and recitals at three different locations during his short stay.

The first was at the University of North Texas, which boasts one of the nation's largest brass music programmes. It also meant a reunion with long-time friend, Dr. Brian Bowman, who has grown the studio into one of international renown. 

During his three-hour masterclass and recital, David worked with eight euphonium students, whilst later in the day he linked up with the newly formed Dallas Brass Band, the only community brass band in the Dallas Fort Worth Metroplex. 

Since January, the band has grown into a 30-piece ensemble, and now regularly performs concerts in the Dallas area. 

The following day was also busy, with David performing Peter Graham's 'Away in a Manger' during Sunday morning worship at The Salvation Army's Dallas Temple/Irving Corps, before the evening concert, which was held at the picturesque Lovers Lane United Methodist Church. 

A near-capacity crowd gathered for 'Christmas with The Salvation Army', and were captivated by his stunning playing of 'Brillante', 'Christmas Song', 'O Holy Night', the scintillating 'A Troika? Tidy' and startling encore 'Hot Canary'.

David's last morning in Dallas saw an early start with a visit to John Guyer High School for another masterclass, involving a number of advanced students from the school's brass programme, where he worked with trumpet, euphonium and tuba players and again gave a presentation on various aspects of brass playing. 

Thanks to 4barsrest.com and Andrew Wainwright