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Frances Môn Jones (20 October 1919 – 8 September 2000) was a Welsh harpist and teacher who won three harp competitions and one solo soprano contest at the
National Eisteddfod of Wales The National Eisteddfod of Wales ( Welsh: ') is the largest of several eisteddfodau that are held annually, mostly in Wales. Its eight days of competitions and performances are considered the largest music and poetry festival in Europe. Competito ...
from 1937 to 1949. She began playing the organ at age 14 before playing the harp. Jones helped W. S. Gwynn Williams to establish the Llangollen International Eisteddfod and played the harp at events. She attended the
Royal Northern College of Music The Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM) is a conservatoire located in Manchester, England. It is one of four conservatoires associated with the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music. In addition to being a centre of music education ...
from 1955 to 1960 and subsequently retired from performing to teach in schools around the area of her residence.


Early life

On 20 October 1919, Jones was born in
Broughton, Wrexham Broughton is a Community (Wales), community in Wrexham County Borough, Wales. It has an area of 469 hectares and had a population of 6,498 in the United Kingdom Census 2001, 2001 census, increasing to 7,454 at the 2011 Census. The area is ...
. She was the daughter of David Charles Davies and his wife Mary Jane ( Goodwin). Jones was educated at the local school and later at
Grove Park Grammar School The Grove Park School (or simply the Groves School) is a former school building in Wrexham, North Wales, which was home to a school between 1939 and 2003. The site has been derelict since 2003, and was proposed for demolition by Wrexham council, ...
. She excelled at Welsh, even though she had no experience of hearing the language at home.


Career

Aged 14, Jones she began playing the organ at Broughton's Pisgah chapel before taking lessons from Alwena Roberts after her Jones' father purchased an erard harp. She won the solo harp competition at the
National Eisteddfod of Wales The National Eisteddfod of Wales ( Welsh: ') is the largest of several eisteddfodau that are held annually, mostly in Wales. Its eight days of competitions and performances are considered the largest music and poetry festival in Europe. Competito ...
three years in a row from 1937 to 1939. Jones won the solo soprano competition in 1949; she had converted "on stage" in the same year and went on to actively participate in several evangelistic campaigns across Europe and the UK. She had won four times at the National Eisteddfod of Wales. During the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, Jones joined the Gwynn Sisters and aided conductor W. S. Gwynn Williams in founding the Llangollen International Eisteddfod in 1947. She sang penillion to her own harp accompaniment at the Eisteddfod opening ceremony with workers authored by her husband every year from 1954 to 1981. In 1953, Jones was admitted to the
Gorsedd Gorsedd Cymru (), or simply the Gorsedd (), is a society of Welsh-language poets, writers, musicians and others who have contributed to the Welsh language and to public life in Wales. Its aim is to honour such individuals and help develop and p ...
under the name "Telynores Brython" before subsequently changing it to "Ffranses Môn" and played the harp frequently at Gorsedd ceremonies from 1957 on. Between 1964 and 1990, she was the Powys Eisteddfod's official harpist. Jones appeared in Brittany, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway and Spain. She visited the United States for the first time in 1957. Jones had partook in the 27th Annual Welsh Day Celebration in
Bangor, Pennsylvania Bangor, or West Bangor, to differentiate it from its immediate neighbor East Bangor, Pennsylvania, East Bangor, is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough located in Northampton County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located north of Allentown, Pe ...
held from 31 August to 1 September at the Lutheran Grove in observation of Welsh institutions and traditions. She went on to participate in a programme held at the Calvary Baptist Church in
Pottsville, Pennsylvania Pottsville is a city and the county seat of Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 13,346 at the 2020 census, and is the principal city of the Pottsville, PA Micropolitan Statistical Area. The city lies along the wes ...
on the evening of 4 September. Jones subsequently performed in Vancouver and Los Angeles later in the year. Between 1955 and 1960, she received instruction in music from David Ewart Parry Williams and took lessons from Jean Bell at the
Royal Northern College of Music The Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM) is a conservatoire located in Manchester, England. It is one of four conservatoires associated with the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music. In addition to being a centre of music education ...
, Manchester. Jones retired from performing and taught in schools around the area of her residence in Llanfair Caereinion. Students whom she taught include Siân James. She served on the panel of adjudicators at Llangollen with other highly acclaimed musicians from 1978 to 1999. Between 1957 and 1985, Jones was treasurer of the Welsh Folk Song Society. She was made its vice-president in 1985 before becoming its president from 1988 until her death in 2000. Jones was elected honorary president of the Society for the Traditional Instruments of Wales, Clear when it came into being in 1996.


Personal life

From 1947 to 1982, she was married to the Methodist minister and
Aberffraw Aberffraw is a village and community (Wales), community on the south west coast of the Isle of Anglesey in Wales. The village is 9 miles from the island's county town, Llangefni, and is on the west bank of the Afon Ffraw (Ffraw River). The com ...
native Robert Môn Jones. Jones was appointed the MBE in 1983 and received the Sir T. H. Parry-Williams Medal at the Anglesey National Eisteddfod in 1999. On 8 September 2000, she died and was subsequently buried at Wrexham Crematorium.


Legacy

Jones was regarded as "one of the foremost ambassadors of traditional Welsh song." She was commemorated by a visit of the National Eisteddfod at her home area of
Meifod Meifod, formerly also written Meivod (), is a small village, Community (Wales), community and Wards and electoral divisions of the United Kingdom, electoral ward north-west of Welshpool in Montgomeryshire, Powys, Wales, on the A495 road and loca ...
for an event in 2003.
The National Library of Wales The National Library of Wales (, ) in Aberystwyth is the national legal deposit library of Wales and is one of the Welsh Government sponsored bodies. It is the biggest library in Wales, holding over 6.5 million books and periodicals, and the la ...
holds an October 1961 letter from Jones to Bryn Tirion in its Maxwell Fraser Papers collection. People's Collection Wales holds a photograph of Jones in its collection and an entry of her is included in the
Dictionary of Welsh Biography The ''Dictionary of Welsh Biography'' (DWB) (also ''The Dictionary of Welsh Biography Down to 1940'' and ''The Dictionary of Welsh Biography, 1941 to 1970'') is a biographical dictionary of Welsh people who have made a significant contribution to ...
.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Frances Môn 1919 births 2000 deaths People from Wrexham County Borough Alumni of the Royal Northern College of Music Welsh harpists Welsh sopranos 20th-century Welsh women educators 20th-century Welsh educators Welsh Eisteddfod winners Members of the Order of the British Empire