Ref. DD-LE Records of the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod
1 DENBIGHSHIRE RECORD OFFICE Ref. DD-LE Records of the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod 1894-2011 Extent 63 Boxes Description The company records of the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod, a musical festival for international choirs and dance groups held since 1947, for a week annually in July, in Llangollen, North Wales. The collection includes the records of the Friends of the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod, which was set up to support the festival, and the papers of W. S. Gwynn Williams, who was instrumental in founding the festival and was the Hon. Music Director of the Eisteddfod, 1947-1977. It also includes records about the festival collected externally, most by local people whose support of the Eisteddfod - as committee members, volunteers or customers - has been important to its survival. The competitors are well represented in the collection, predominantly in the promotional series in photographs, audio and visual recordings, press cuttings and publicity material. Creator: LRW Date: 24/06/2009 2 DENBIGHSHIRE RECORD OFFICE Administrative History The first Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod, held in 1947, was the concept of Harold Tudor of Coedpoeth, then a member of the British Council; the concept being the creation of a festival 'to promote education, international peace and goodwill through the medium of the fine arts and in particular the art of music'.(1) After the idea for such a festival was turned down by the Welsh National Eisteddfod, Harold Tudor approached W. S. Gwynn Williams, a noted Welsh composer and music publisher, to suggest an independent festival based in Llangollen. With the help of George Northing, a teacher from Dinas Brân County School and Chairman of the local council, the idea gained the support of town residents and in 1946, organising of the festival began.
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