Rae Jenkins , born Henry Horatio Jenkins (19 April 1903 – 29 March 1985) was a Welsh violinist and later conductor of light music, notably with the BBC Midland Light Orchestra (1942–1946), the BBC Variety Orchestra (from 1946), and as principal conductor of the

BBC Welsh Orchestra The BBC National Orchestra of Wales (BBC NOW) ( cy, Cerddorfa Genedlaethol Gymreig y BBC) is a Welsh symphony orchestra and one of the BBC's five professional radio orchestras. The BBC NOW is the only professional symphony orchestra organisation ...

(1950–1965). In 1955

Hubert Clifford __NOTOC__ Hubert John Clifford (31 May 1904 – 4 September 1959) was an Australian-born British composer, conductor and musical director for films. A native of Bairnsdale in rural Victoria, he studied chemistry before taking up music at the Melbo ...

, Head of Light Music at the BBC, called Jenkins "the most gifted and experienced conductor of light music in the country". Jenkins was born at

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 1903, the son of a

coal miner Coal mining is the process of resource extraction, extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its Energy value of coal, energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use c ...

. Given a violin when four years old, he was

first violin The concertmaster (from the German ''Konzertmeister''), first chair (U.S.) or leader (U.K.) is the principal first violin player in an orchestra (or clarinet in a concert band). After the conductor, the concertmaster is the second-most signifi ...

in his local theatre orchestra by the age of eleven. However at the age of 14 he was sent down the coal mines as a pit boy.Palmer, Russell. ''British Music'' (1948), pp. 137-8 His parents eventually found the means to send him to 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 ...

at the age of 17, where he studied viola under

Lionel Tertis Lionel Tertis, CBE (29 December 187622 February 1975) was an English violist. He was one of the first viola players to achieve international fame and a noted teacher. Career Tertis was born in West Hartlepool, the son of Polish-Jewish immigra ...

and conducting under Sir

Henry Wood Sir Henry Joseph Wood (3 March 186919 August 1944) was an English conductor best known for his association with London's annual series of promenade concerts, known as the Proms. He conducted them for nearly half a century, introducing hund ...

. His first broadcast was with the Reginald King Orchestra in 1930. He was appointed conductor of the BBC Midland Light Orchestra in 1942, putting on "at least a thousand" programmes from the Midlands before leaving to take over the BBC Variety Orchestra from Charles Shadwell in 1946. Jenkins worked on radio programmes, including ''

It's That Man Again ''It's That Man Again'' (commonly contracted to ''ITMA'') was a BBC radio comedy programme which ran for twelve series from 1939 to 1949. The shows featured Tommy Handley in the central role, a fast-talking figure, around whom the other cha ...

'' (ITMA). He was also an authority on music of

gypsy The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani , ), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have diaspora populations located worldwide, with sign ...

origin. He appeared as a castaway on the

BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927). The service provides national radio stations covering th ...

programme ''

Desert Island Discs ''Desert Island Discs'' is a radio programme broadcast on BBC Radio 4. It was first broadcast on the BBC Forces Programme on 29 January 1942. Each week a guest, called a " castaway" during the programme, is asked to choose eight recordings (usu ...

'' on 6 September 1965. He was a

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(MBE) and a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Music (FRAM). A portrait of Jenkins was painted by

William Redgrave William Redgrave (1903–1986) was a British sculptor. His major work ''The Event'' was mostly destroyed in the 2004 Momart warehouse fire. William Redgrave was born in Little Ilford, Essex. He worked for the BBC for a time. In World War ...

. A plaque in Ammanford Town Hall commemorates him. It reads:

Biography

References

1903 births People from Ammanford 1985 deaths 20th-century British conductors (music) Welsh conductors (music) British male conductors (music) BBC people Light music composers Alumni of the Royal Academy of Music Members of the Order of the British Empire Fellows of the Royal Academy of Music 20th-century British male musicians {{Wales-bio-stub