Gwenan Gibbard awarded Doctoral Scholarship

Renowned harpist, Gwenan Gibbard has been announced as the recipient of a Doctoral Scholarship to study the contributions of Dr. Meredydd Evans and Phyllis Kinney to Welsh folk music.

Gwenan Gibbard, a native of Pwllheli, is well known in the Welsh folk music scene as a harpist and singer, performer, composer, and adjudicator and accompanist at a national level. She has traveled extensively performing as a soloist and as part of music projects and has published three solo albums with Sain: Y Gwenith Gwynnaf (2006), Sidan Glas (2010), Cerdd Dannau (2013) and one EP: Y Gorwel Pur (2015). She is a prominent figure in the Welsh Folk Song Society, and Cymdeithas Cerdd Dant Cymru, and is conductor and musical director of Côr yr Heli that specializes in cerdd dant and folk singing.

The Doctoral Scholarship is a collaboration between the Welsh Music Archive, at the National Library of Wales (Aberystwyth), the School of Music and Media, Bangor University and Y Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol. The aim of the PhD Scholarship (sponsored by Y Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol and the National Library of Wales) will be to focus on specific aspects of collecting folk melodies in the second half of the 20th and 21st centuries in Wales.

‘I was pleased that there was so much interest in this scholarship, and that such a high caliber of applicants had applied. This reflects the national importance of the archives of Merêd and Phyllis Kinney. Congratulations to Gwenan Gibbard, we look forward to working with her over the coming years’ says Nia Mai Daniel, Welsh Music Archive Program Manager at the National Library of Wales.

Professor Chris Collins, Head of Music comments:

‘As one of the nation's leading traditional performers and author of a wonderful volume on the life of Dora Herbert Jones, it will be a privilege for us at Bangor University's School of Music to work with harpist, Gwenan Gibbard. I am confident that the future will be an extremely productive time and a means of strengthening the link between us and the National Library of Wales and Merêd and Phyllis valuable collection.'

The successful candidate will begin in October 2019, and will study part time over a period of 6 years. As well as a scholarly study, it is envisaged that the research will inform musical outputs and public activity and will promote the Merêd and Phyllis Archive, and the distinctive contribution of both to music in Wales.

Publication date: 6 August 2019