Competition to develop some of Wales’ top young performers returns after three-year break

A competition to develop some of the best young performers in Wales will be held for the first time in three years this weekend.

The Urdd Bryn Terfel Scholarship offers some of the nation’s most promising and talented young people the opportunity to compete for the chance to win a £4,000 prize and the prestigious title, ‘The Urdd Bryn Terfel Scholarship Winner 2022′.

The competition was last held in 2019 when the prize was won by tenor Rhydian Jenkins from Maesteg.

The renowned bass-baritone opera singer Bryn Terfel said, “This is a golden opportunity for some of Wales’ best young performers to shine on a national stage.

“As someone who strongly believes in the value of developing new talent, I am delighted to see the Scholarship go from strength to strength with the standard of the performers being consistently high.”

The six who will compete for the scholarship this year are: Fflur Davies from Rhostryfan near Caernarfon who is studying BA Performance at Trinity St David in Cardiff; the pianist Gwenno Morgan from Bangor who now lives in London and has just graduated from Goldsmiths University in London; Ioan Wyn Williams from Cardiff who is studying Dance at LIPA University in Liverpool; Mali Elwy who was born in Tan-y-fron near Llansannan and is studying BA Welsh at Bangor University; the tenor Owain Rowlands from Llandeilo, Carmarthenshire, who lives and studies in London; and Rhydian Tiddy who is an instrumentalist from Llandeilo, but now lives in London studying Classical Trombone at the Royal Academy of Music.

Urdd National Eisteddfod

The presenter Trystan Ellis-Morris will reveal which one of the six competitors has won the scholarship in a special programme from Aberystwyth Arts Centre on Sunday evening, 12 March at 8pm on S4C.

The six were chosen by a panel of judges who were in charge of choosing the six most promising individuals from among all the individual competitions in categories under the age of 25 at the Urdd National Eisteddfod, Denbighshire 2022.

The judges who will choose the winner on the night are Barri Gwilliam, Sioned Terry, Bethan Williams-Jones and Gwennan Gibbard.

The aim of the award, which was established in 1999, is to help the best young performers in Wales to reach a professional stage. For some, it has led to an international career.

Mentor

To prepare them for their performances for the competition, the six competitors have been having individual master classes and a mentor over the past few weeks.

Among the well-known faces who have been mentoring the competitors are the soprano Rhian Lois, who won the scholarship in 2008; the actor Ffion Dafis; pianist Iwan Llewelyn Jones; the musicals star Steffan Harri; the dance artist Osian Meilir, and the trombonist Dafydd Thomas.

The six have also had sessions as a group from Stifyn Parri and Angharad Lee.

Bryn Terfel added, “If I could give one word of advice to the competitors this year, I would encourage them to enjoy the experience as much as they can. I’m really looking forward to seeing the feast ahead of us this year, and good luck to everyone, go for it!”

Former winners of the Scholarship include the actress Mirain Haf, the soprano Fflur Wyn, the actor Aled Pedrick and the singer Steffan Rhys Hughes.

Ysgoloriaeth Urdd Gobaith Cymru Bryn Terfel 2022 will be broadcast on Sunday 12 March at 8.00 PM on S4C. It will also be available on demand at: S4C Clic, iPlayer and other platforms.