Organology and Traditional Instruments of Wales

Organological studies at the School of Music, University of Bangor centre around the Peter Crossley-Holland collection of world instruments which were deposited here in the mid-1990s by the retired Professor of Ethnomusicology at UCLA. Crossley-Holland (1916-2001) was an adventurer and pioneer of the study of ethnomusicology, who collected the music, instruments and folklore of indigenous peoples, in areas including Europe, India, Tibet and Mexico. He had wide-ranging interests including Welsh and wider Celtic musicology. On the faculty board of UCLA until his retirement in 1983, Peter received an Honorary Fellowship of Bangor University (1992) for his service to Welsh music.

Crossley-Holland Collection

The University is privileged to hold a major Crossley-Holland collection, including over 600 ethnic European instruments and over 300 pre-Columbian instruments from Mexico, representing a period from 3000 BC to 1500 AD. Also included are over 100 of his compositions, over 4000 books on Celtic history, music, heritage and culture. Also, over 200 tapes and disc field recordings of ethnic music provide an invaluable picture of Indian and Tibetan culture in the 1950s and 1960s.