John Rees (musician), Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death

    

John Rees (musician)

British musician

Date of Birth: 14-Nov-1857

Place of Birth: Cwmgiedd, Wales, United Kingdom

Date of Death: 14-Oct-1949

Profession: musician, coal miner

Nationality: United Kingdom

Zodiac Sign: Scorpio


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About John Rees (musician)

  • John Thomas Rees (1857–1949) was a Welsh musician and composer who was notable for winning a prize at the National Eisteddfod in 1895.John Thomas Rees was born 14 November 1857 at Llwynbedw.
  • The son of Thomas and Hannah (née Morgan) Rees, he began working as a mine pit boy at age nine.
  • During the time he worked in the mines, Rees studied the Tonic-Solfa system, earning an advanced certificate.
  • Rees also taught music while he was a colliery worker; one of his pupils was Daniel Protheroe.Rees worked in the mines until the age of twenty-one; at that time, he gained some notability as the composer of a cantata he entered into a Treherbert eisteddfod competition.
  • A small fund was established by Rees' friends for his studies at Aberystwyth with Joseph Parry.
  • When these funds ran low, Rees was faced with the possibility of leaving the university until David Jenkins arranged for him to teach Solfa classes in Pen-y-garn.
  • Rees travelled to Emporia, Kansas in 1882; he then entered the University of Toronto, where he received a Bachelor of Music degree in 1889.
  • Rees later held a teaching position at the university while he again visited North America.Rees settled in Pen-y-Garn; he married Elizabeth Davies there in 1881.
  • He taught adult music classes, conducted local choirs, was a part-time music teacher in nearby Tregaron and a part-time lecturer at University of Wales, Aberystwyth.
  • While teaching at Pen-y-garn, Rees continued composing.
  • His composition for string quartet won the top prize at the national eisteddfod at Aberdare, with the judges declaring it to be the best composition ever submitted there.
  • He again won first prize at a national competition for the best musical arrangement of a Psalm for orchestra, soli and chorus.
  • Rees also edited various collections of hymns and songs.
  • He died on 14 October 1949.

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