Artist Info: John Parry

John Parry (18 February 1776 – 8 April 1851), commonly known by his bardic name "Bardd Alaw", was a Welsh harpist and composer.

Parry was born in Denbigh, in northern Wales, the son of a stonemason. He taught himself to play the fife on an instrument that he made himself from a piece of cane, and a dance-master who lived nearby taught him the rudiments of the clarinet, which he used to accompany singers in church.

In 1793, Parry joined the Denbighshire militia's volunteers' band, becoming its conductor in 1797. [read more...]