John Thomas (harpist)

John Thomas (1 March 1826 – 19 March 1913) was a Welsh composer and harpist. The bardic name Pencerdd Gwalia (Chief of the Welsh minstrels) was conferred on him at the 1861 Aberdare Eisteddfod. Life He was born in Bridgend on Saint David’s Day, son of a tailor, also named John Thomas, a clarinetist in the amateur town band. He was the eldest of seven children, four of whom also played the harp, most notably his brother Thomas Thomas. John Thomas started off by playing the triple harp, which had three rows of strings. At the age of 14, through the influence of Ada Lovelace, (Lord Byron’s daughter), he was admitted to the Royal Academy of Music in London. His teachers there included Cipriani Potter for composition and John Balsir Chatterton for harp. He eventually married twice, both times to former students. His first wife, Alice Ann Keate, died in 1880, two years after their marriage; he married Joan Francis Denny in 1885. In 1872, he was appointed harpist to Queen Victoria. Publications *1862 Welsh Melodies, with Welsh and English Poetry, vols. 1 & 2, by John Jones (Talhaiarn) & Thomas Oliphant. Author: John Thomas. *1870 Welsh Melodies, with Welsh and English Poetry, vol. 3, by J