David Jenkins (Q61697)

Prof. David Jenkins (1848-1915) was born on 30th December 1848 at Trecastle, Brecknockshire. Although apprenticed to the tailoring trade, he was attracted to the Tonic Solfa choral movement. In 1874, he enrolled at Aberystwyth College and studied under the renowned composer Joseph Parry, the first Professor of Music there. Jenkins received his Mus. Bac. from Cambridge in 1878. In 1893, he was appointed lecturer in the newly-formed Music Department of the University of Wales, Aberystwyth, and was appointed Professor in 1910, a post he held until his death. He was a prominent figure in the musical life of Wales, judging at the National Eisteddfod and provincial eisteddfodau, and conducting at cymanfaoedd (hymn-singing festivals). He was also a prolific composer; his best-known choral works are Arch y Cyfamod, Job, Yr Ystorm and The Psalm of Life, which was written for the Cardiff Triennial Festival in 1895, and was first premiered by two thousand singers at the Crystal Palace, London, on July 1896. He was also an editor of Y Cerddor. He died in Castell Brychan, Aberystwyth, on 10th December, 1915. After his death, his musical works remained popular and there were subsequent editions and translations.