Ifan Williams (November 1889, Carmarthen, Wales - September 1957,

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

) was a Canadian

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

ist, conductor, and

music educator Music education is a field of practice in which educators are trained for careers as elementary or secondary music teachers, school or music conservatory ensemble directors. Music education is also a research area in which scholars do original ...

of Welsh birth. He should not be confused with his son, the cellist Ifan Williams (b. 1945,

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348,634 people in its urban area. The ...

Education and career

Ifan Williams was trained as a musician at the

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is the oldest conservatoire in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the first Duke of ...

in London where he was the first violinist of the RAM's

string quartet The term string quartet can refer to either a type of musical composition or a group of four people who play them. Many composers from the mid-18th century onwards wrote string quartets. The associated musical ensemble consists of two violinists ...

and concertmaster of the school's orchestra. He was the winner of numerous violin competitions and music scholarships, and following graduation worked as a concert violinist in London and the surrounding provinces. He also worked as an ensemble musician in the

London Symphony Orchestra The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's orchestras, symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's ...

(LSO) and the orchestra of the

Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal Op ...

Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist si ...

, and as a member of the Blagrove String Quartette. His brother, the cellist Geraint Williams, was also a member of the LSO. In 1920 Williams immigrated to Canada; settling in Halifax, Nova Scotia where he ultimately became a naturalized Canadian. He was the head of the string program at the Maritime Conservatory of Performing Arts (then known as the Halifax Conservatory) from 1920 to 1934; and then was promoted to director of the conservatory; a post he held from 1934 until his death in 1957. He was also the conductor of conservatory's orchestra during his tenure at the school. In 1922 Williams founded the

Halifax Choral Society Halifax Choral Society is a choir based in the town of Halifax in the English county of West Yorkshire. It is notable for being the oldest amateur choral society in Britain (and possibly in the world) with an unbroken record of performance. Hi ...

and was that group's first conductor. In 1935 he founded the Halifax Music Festival.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Iffan 1889 births 1957 deaths Alumni of the Royal Academy of Music Canadian violinists Canadian conductors (music) People from Carmarthen Welsh violinists