Ceinwen Rowlands was born on 15 January 1905 in Holyhead, Anglesey, the only child of William Rowlands, proprietor of the town's Anglesey Emporium menswear shop, and his wife Kate, a well-known singer from Cerrigydrudion, Denbighshire. Educated locally and at Bangor County School for Girls, Ceinwen studied singing for nine years under Robert (Wilfred) Jones and made her name by winning first prize for singing at two successive National Eisteddfods, at Mold in 1923 and Pwllheli in 1925. The prizes brought a stream of invitations to sing in celebrity concerts and oratorio performances across Wales.
In January 1930 she moved to London to further her training with Plunket Greene and Mabel Kelly, and went on to become one of the leading concert sopranos of her generation, much in demand for concerts, broadcasts and operatic and oratorio work. She recorded extensively for Decca between 1935 and 1953, including settings by Welsh composers Meirion Williams, D. Vaughan Thomas and Mansel Thomas, and gave the first Welsh-language performance of Mendelssohn's "Hymn of Praise" at the 1943 Bangor National Eisteddfod.
Rowlands married Arthur Walter, a Welsh-descended Chief Official Receiver of Bankruptcy based in Portsmouth, in 1946; the couple had no children. After spending more than forty years in London, she returned to North Wales in 1972, settling in Rhyl. She died on 12 June 1983 and was cremated at Colwyn Bay. Her papers are held at the National Library of Wales.
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One of the leading Welsh concert sopranos of her generation, a National Eisteddfod double champion and prolific Decca recording artist.
Ceinwen Rowlands
Soprano / Concert & Opera Singer
Born and raised in Holyhead, Anglesey, before moving to London in 1930 to pursue her singing career; she returned to North Wales in later life, settling in Rhyl.
Rowlands studied under Plunket Greene and Mabel Kelly in London and built a repertoire spanning Welsh folk song, oratorio and opera, becoming particularly known for her interpretations of works by Welsh composers. Her recordings for Decca between 1949 and 1952, along with earlier sessions for the Welsh Recorded Music Society, remain part of the historical record of 20th-century Welsh vocal music, and a biography and discography of her career, "O lwyfan i lwyfan", was published in 1999.
Career Highlights
Won first prize for singing at the National Eisteddfod, Mold, 1923
Won first prize for singing at the National Eisteddfod, Pwllheli, 1925
Gave first Welsh-language performance of Mendelssohn's Hymn of Praise, National Eisteddfod, Bangor, 1943
ℹ️ Born 15 January 1905 in Holyhead, Anglesey, Wales.
ℹ️ Died 12 June 1983 at Clatterbridge Hospital, Cheshire; cremated at Colwyn Bay, North Wales.
Born and raised in Holyhead, Anglesey, before moving to London in 1930 to pursue her singing career; she returned to North Wales in later life, settling in Rhyl.