John Rippiner Heath

John Rippiner Heath (4 January 1887 - 23 December 1950 ) was a British composer, violinist and physician who lived and worked for most of his life in Wales. Life Heath was born in Birmingham the son of Professor Robert Heath, principal of Birmingham University’s Mason College. He was educated at Clifton College before studying medicine at Trinity College, Cambridge. As a musician he was largely self taught, though he led many string quartets for the University Musical Club. In 1913 he became a medical practitioner in Barmouth, Wales. Returning to his Barmouth practice after the war, Heath became associated with musicians including Alfred Perceval Graves, Joseph Holbrooke and Granville Bantock. In April 1919, A P Graves’ son, the poet Robert Graves, asked Heath to set his poems for children (The Penny Fiddle) to music, but the music never materialised. In 1922 he established and became the conductor of the Barmouth Choral Union, a choir which entered choral competitions around the country. He wrote for the Meirion Welsh Ballet Company and helped organize the Harlech Festival, whose driving force was Walford Davies. Heath continued to practice as a doctor until a few days before his