City in Wales. A tradition of organized music-making in Swansea can be traced back to the late 18th century at least (see Thomas), but Swansea owes its present importance as a centre for music mainly to developments which have taken place since World War II.
The Swansea Festival of Music and the Arts was inaugurated in 1948 and is held annually in October. While including occasional participation from local choirs, its main aim has been to attract orchestras, singers and instrumentalists from elsewhere in Britain and abroad, following the pattern established at Edinburgh, although on a more modest scale. Several works have been commissioned from Welsh composers, notably Daniel Jones, who lived in the city for most of his life. The Gower Festival, held annually in July since 1976 in various venues in the surrounding district, has concentrated more on music for small ensembles; its commissions from Welsh composers have included several of Jones's string quartets.
The long traditions of choral singing in Swansea are well represented by the Swansea Philharmonic Choir, founded in 1960 by Haydn James, and the Swansea Bach Choir, founded five years later by John Hugh Thomas. Between 1965 and 1983 Thomas also organized an annual Bach Week at Swansea University, with specialist lectures and recitals concentrating on the music of Bach and his contemporaries. The city is regularly visited by the WNO.
J.H. Thomas: ‘The Cultural Tradition: Music’, The City of Swansea: Challenges and Changes, ed. R.A. Griffiths (Gloucester, 1980), 218–29
C. Jones: ‘Swansea Bach Choir: the First Twenty-One Years’, Welsh Music, viii/4 (1987), 40–47
MALCOLM BOYD