Life
He was born in Bridgend, on Saint David's Day, 1 March 1826, son of a tailor, also named John Thomas, a clarinetist in the amateur town band. He was the eldest of seven children, four of whom also played the harp, most notably his brother Thomas Thomas. John Thomas started off by playing the triple harp which had three sets of strings and was very difficult to play. At the age of 14, through the influence of Ada Lovelace (Lord Byron's daughter), he was admitted to the Royal Academy of Music in London. His teachers there included Cipriani Potter for composition.
He taught at the Royal College of Music, where he eventually became professor, and at the Guildhall School of Music.
He wrote many pieces for the harp that are very popular today and are used in the exam syllabus. He also wrote an opera, a symphony, two harp concertos, overtures, chamber music, and two cantatas – Llewellyn (1863) and The Bride of Neath Valley (1866). He played one of his own harp concertos at a Philharmonic concert in 1852.
In 1861, he was briefly engaged to the Belgian soprano Désirée Artôt.
In 1872 he was appointed harpist to Queen Victoria.
Read more about this topic: John Thomas (harpist)
Famous quotes containing the word life:
“In the two centuries that have passed since 1776, millions upon millions of Americans have worked and taken up arms, when necessary, to make [the American] dream a reality. We can be proud of what they have accomplished. Today, we are the worlds oldest republic. We are at peace. Our nation and our way of life endure. And we are free.”
—Gerald R. Ford (b. 1913)
“All my life Ive been harassed by questions: Why is something this way and not another? How do you account for that? This rage to understand, to fill in the blanks, only makes life more banal. If we could only find the courage to leave our destiny to chance, to accept the fundamental mystery of our lives, then we might be closer to the sort of happiness that comes with innocence.”
—Luis Buñuel (19001983)
“When they [the American soldiers] came, they found fit comrades for their courage and their devotion.... Joining hands with them, the men of America gave the greatest of all gifts, the gift of life and the gift of spirit.”
—Woodrow Wilson (18561924)