ROBERTS, THOMAS OSBORNE (1879 - 1948), musician

Born 12 February 1879 at Weston Rhyn, near Oswestry, Salop, son of Evan Thomas Roberts and his wife Hephsibah Roberts; the family moved in 1890 to Ysbyty Ifan, Denbighshire, to keep a shop. He was educated at the county school, Llanrwst, Salop School, Oswestry, the county school, Porthmadog, and the University College of North Wales, Bangor. He was articled to Major Barnes, agent of the Chirk Castle estate, and it was at Chirk that he began to study music and to learn to play the piano. He had begun to be in demand as an accompanist before he moved, in 1902, to Llandudno where he became organist of the English (B) chapel. He had by now decided to devote himself entirely to music. He wrote songs ('Y Mab Afradlon ' and ' Good Shepherd') and a piece for male voice choirs ('Brwydr y Baltic') which was chosen as a test-piece at the Colwyn Bay national eisteddfod of 1910. Appointed organist of Castle Square English chapel, Caernarfon, he moved to that town; later he became organist and choirmaster at Moreia (CM) chapel in the same town. About this time he composed the songs ' Y Nefoedd ', ' Pistyll y Llan ', and ' Cymru Lân '. He wrote several hymn-tunes, among them ' Pennant '. His services were much in demand as accompanist and adjudicator. He died at Wrexham Hospital, 21 June 1948, and was buried in Ysbyty Ifan churchyard four days later.

He had been married twice, his second wife being Leila Megáne (Margaret Hughes).

Author

• Robert David Griffith, (1877 - 1958)

Sources

• Y Cerddor, January 1911
• Baner ac Amserau Cymru, June, 1948
• Huw Williams, Thomas Osborne Roberts (1980)

Further reading

• Thomas Osborne Roberts 1879-1948, Discover Welsh Music website, viewed 8 January 2019

Additional Links

• NLW Archives: Leila Mégane and T. Osborne Roberts Papers and Correspondence
• VIAF: 305450118
• Wikidata: Q20734511

Published date: 2001

Article Copyright: http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC-RUU/1.0/