Phyllis Kinney (born 4 July 1922) is an American-born British singer, collector and historian who is a leading authority on Welsh folk music.
[1] After completing her education at Pontiac High School, Kinney enrolled at Michigan State College, East Lansing.
[2] Jones considered her soprano renditions to bring "a vivid understanding of the character of the Welsh people" to audiences in Michigan.
During a stop in Bangor, Wales, Kinney met Meredydd Evans, a Welsh folk musician who was a member of the popular close harmony group Triawd y Coleg.
"[9] In 1962, Kinney providing operatic vocal accompaniment on Evans' album A Concert of Welsh Songs, with backing by the Russian harpist Maria Korchinska and several musicians and singers conducted and arranged by Robert Docker.
[11] In the 1980s, Kinney and Evans settled in Cwmystwyth, where they contributed to the community and taught Welsh to a host of their non-Welsh-speaking neighbours; according to biographer R. Arwel Jones, the couple's home became "a magnet for people of all ages, from all over Wales and the world who would flock there to enjoy their company and to benefit from the couple's intellectual generosity".
On that date, the National Library hosted Phyllis Kinney: 100, an event featuring her daughter Eluned and harpist Elinor Bennett, to celebrate the centenary.