Irwyn Ranald Walters (6 December 1902 – 21 November 1992) was a Welsh musician, conductor and administrator. Walters was born in

Ammanford Ammanford ( cy, Rhydaman) is a town and community in Carmarthenshire, Wales, with a population of 5,411 at the 2011 census. It is a former coal mining town. The built-up area had a population of 7,945 with the wider urban area even bigger. Acco ...

. In his youth, Walters' musical tutorship came from conductor

Gwilym R. Jones Gwilym Richard Jones (24 March 1903 – 29 July 1993) was an editor and poet, and the first person to have received all three major literary awards at the National Eisteddfod of Wales. The Eisteddfod is an event at which it is notoriously difficult ...

, and

David Vaughan Thomas David Vaughan Thomas or David Vaughan-Thomas (15 March 1873 – 15 September 1934), born David Thomas, and known also by his bardic name Pencerdd Vaughan, was a composer, organist, pianist and music administrator. His compositions are deeply inf ...

(1873-1934). Irwyn's education took place at Amman Valley County School and Aberystwyth. After working as a teacher in Bideford, Walters moved to Islington in 1928, and he conducted the Swansea Festival Orchestra, and Welsh Philharmonic Orchestra. He remained an active musician throughout his life, even during World War II, when he organised various concerts across Wales. Irwyn Walters founded the National Youth Orchestra of Wales in 1945, primarily in response to the high demand for orchestral education being provided in England, and served as its director for a time. Irwyn died in Swansea, aged 89. His son was

Gareth Walters Gareth Walters (27 December 1928 – 31 May 2012) was a Welsh composer, teacher and producer. Biography Gareth Walters was born on 27 December 1928 in Swansea, South Wales, and completed his early education there. As a schoolboy he began to Musi ...

, who also achieved recognition as a musician.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Walters, Irwyn Ranald Welsh conductors (music) British male conductors (music) 1992 deaths 1902 births People from Ammanford 20th-century British conductors (music) 20th-century British male musicians