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Geraint Lewis 1958

Geraint Lewis (© Matthew Thistlewood)
ENGLISH

Ganed Geraint Lewis yng Nghaerdydd yn 1958 a'i addysgu yn Ysgolion Bryntaf a Rhydfelen, Coleg Cerdd a Drama Brenhinol Cymru a Choleg Ioan Sant, Caergrawnt ble bu'n ddisgybl i'r chwedlonol George Guest. Mewn gyrfa amrywiol bu'n ddarlithydd ym Mhrifysgol Bangor, yn gyfarwyddwr Gŵyl Gerdd Gogledd Cymru, Cadeirydd Bwrdd Cerdd Cyngor Celfyddydau Cymru, yn gynhyrchydd recordiau gyda chwmni Nimbus ger Trefynwy ac yn ddarlledwr, awdur a chyfansoddwr prysur. Eleni dyfarnwyd iddo Wobr Syr Geraint Evans gan Urdd Cerddoriaeth Cymru ac ym mis Ionawr fe'i apwyntiwyd yn Gyfarwyddwr Artistig Gŵyl Machen Isaf.

 

Dechreuodd gyfansoddi yn ei arddegau a gweithiodd yn agos dros y blynyddoedd gyda William Mathias, Alun Hoddinott a Syr Michael Tippett. Y mae wedi cyfasoddi rhyw 150 o weithiau mewn amrywiaeth eang o ffurfiau. Daeth ei anthem er côf am Mathias 'The Souls of the Righteous' yn glasur corawl cyfoes ar sawl cyfandir a'i recordio rhyw ugain tro. Cyfansoddodd 'Afallon' i Gorws WNO ganu wrth i'r Frenhines agor Cynulliad Cenedlaethol Cymru yn 1999.

Geraint Lewis was born in Cardiff on February 21st 1958. He was educated at Bryntaf and Rhydfelen, as a Junior Scholar at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama and at St.John's College, Cambridge where he was a pupil of the legendary George Guest. He then worked at Bangor University (1980-87) and Nimbus Records (1988-2003), was Artistic Director of the North Wales Music Festival (1992-2004) and served the Arts Council of Wales becoming Chairman of its Music Board (1996-2002). He was appointed Artistic Director of the Lower Machen Festival in January 2018.

 

Composing from his teenage years Geraint worked closely with William Mathias, Michael Tippett and Alun Hoddinott as is musical executor to the estate of Dilys Elwyn-Edwards. He has composed around 150 works in nearly all genres including the community opera 'Culhwch ac Olwen' (Gwyn Thomas) for the 2000 Cricciert Festival and the choral-symphony 'Nearly in Heaven' (Dylan Thomas) for BBCNOW and Only Men Aloud at the 2003 Swansea Festival. He was commissioned to write 'Afallon' for the WNO Chorus to sing as Her Majesty The Queen opened the National Assembly of Wales in 1999 where it was repeated in 2004. Geraint was awarded the Sir Geraint Evans Award by the Welsh Music Guild in 2018.

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