He won a music scholarship and became a pupil of Joseph Parry, which led to his qualifying at University College, Cardiff, in 1895.
One of his original hymn tunes, Lucerna Laudoniae, was used to set the words For The Beauty of the Earth.
[6][7] His orchestral Concerto for String Orchestra op 7, was published as part of the Carnegie Collection of British Music in 1928.
Some compositions attributed to him were in fact written by his eldest son, Arthur, who died in the influenza pandemic of 1918.
His papers are held by the National Library of Wales[8] and some by his grandson, also named David Evans.