Mary Davies

Mary Davies
Background information
Born	(1855-02-27)27 February 1855
Origin	London
Died	22 June 1930(1930-06-22) (aged 75)
Genres	Classical, folksongs
Occupation(s)	Mezzo-soprano
Instruments	Singer

Mary Davies (27 February 1855 – 22 June 1930) was a Welsh mezzo-soprano and the co-founder and first President of the . She was principal vocalist at the London Ballad Concerts, and at the National Eisteddfod of 1906.^[1]

Born in London, Davies was the daughter of the Welsh sculptor (Mynorydd) (1826–1901), who was himself the son of composer Moses Davies. The family attended a Welsh-language chapel in London.^[2] Before attending the Royal Academy of Music she studied singing with Henry Brinley Richards, Megan Watts Hughes and . She joined the , then under the direction of the composer John Thomas, which in 1873 awarded her a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music where she was a pupil of Alberto Randegger.^[1]

She made her professional debut in her first year at the Royal Academy. In 1880 she sang in the first complete performance in England of Hector Berlioz’s La damnation de Faust at the Hallé Concerts, Manchester.

Davies was active in the musical life of Wales, and in the collection of Welsh folk songs. She was a member of the governing body of the University of Wales, from which she received an honorary doctorate.^[3]

In 1888 she married , a journalist and the first registrar of the University College of North Wales, Bangor. After her husband's death in 1905 she lived in London. She died on 22 June 1930 and was buried in Bangor.^[1][3]

Awards[]

• Honorary Mus.Doc., University of Wales (1916)
• Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion medal for services to music (1929)

Sources[]