Latest news with #PaulMealor
South Wales Argus
2 hours ago
- Entertainment
- South Wales Argus
Last chance for Pendine Young Musician of Wales entries
Royal composer Paul Mealor has urged talented instrumentalists and singers to compete in the 2025 event, part of the North Wales International Music Festival. He said: "It's not too late for young musicians to enter the competition." Applicants have until 5pm on July 4 to submit a video or audio clip and an application form for the festival, which runs from September 11 to 20. More details are available at The event, in its second year, is sponsored by Pendine Park care organisation. The winner will receive a silver Pendine Trophy and a £2,000 cash prize, while the runner-up will secure £1,000 and two additional finalists will be awarded £500 each. The performances of all four finalists will be broadcast live on BBC Radio Cymru. Mario Kreft, co-founder of the competition, said: "Our aim is to encourage and foster young, emerging talent and the Pendine Young Musician of Wales competition has all the makings of a very prestigious event." The festival will see last year's winner, Heledd Wynn Newton, entertain the audience whilst the judges deliberate.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Final call for young musicians to claim Pendine Trophy
A final call has been issued for Gwent's young musicians to vie for the revered Pendine Young Musician of Wales title and up to £4,000 in prizes. Royal composer Paul Mealor has urged talented instrumentalists and singers to compete in the 2025 event, part of the North Wales International Music Festival. He said: "It's not too late for young musicians to enter the competition." Applicants have until 5pm on July 4 to submit a video or audio clip and an application form for the festival, which runs from September 11 to 20. More details are available at The event, in its second year, is sponsored by Pendine Park care organisation. The winner will receive a silver Pendine Trophy and a £2,000 cash prize, while the runner-up will secure £1,000 and two additional finalists will be awarded £500 each. The performances of all four finalists will be broadcast live on BBC Radio Cymru. Mario Kreft, co-founder of the competition, said: "Our aim is to encourage and foster young, emerging talent and the Pendine Young Musician of Wales competition has all the makings of a very prestigious event." The festival will see last year's winner, Heledd Wynn Newton, entertain the audience whilst the judges deliberate.
Leader Live
21 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Leader Live
Last call for Pendine Young Musician of Wales competition
Entries are now open for the second Pendine Young Musician of Wales competition, taking place during the 2025 North Wales International Music Festival at St Asaph Cathedral from September 11 to 20. The competition is open to instrumentalists and singers aged under 21 as of January 1 this year, who are either born or living in Wales, or Welsh nationals living abroad. Professor Paul Mealor, royal composer and co-founder of the competition, said: "It's not too late for young musicians to enter the competition – there's still a few weeks left. "We've already had a load of entries but we want to make sure we reach out to rising stars in every corner of Wales. "If there's any young instrumentalists or vocalists who want to have a chance to win thousands of pounds in prize money and to perform live on BBC Radio Cymru, they need to get their skates on. "It's a very special competition that can launch a career and we're indebted to Pendine Park for sponsoring it." The competition is funded by the festival's headline sponsor, Pendine Park, through the Pendine Arts and Community Trust. The winner will receive the silver Pendine Trophy and a £2,000 cash prize. The runner-up will receive £1,000, and two other finalists will each receive £500. All four finalists will perform live on BBC Radio Cymru. The judging panel includes Professor Helena Gaunt, principal of the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama; internationally acclaimed soprano Rebecca Evans CBE; and Alun Jones, the festival's executive vice-chair and former principal of Chetham's School of Music. Last year's winner, Cardiff harpist Heledd Wynn Newton, will perform during the judges' deliberations. Mario Kreft MBE, co-founder of the competition alongside Professor Mealor, said: "After the success of the inaugural competition last year, we're really excited about the prospects for the 2025 contest. "Our aim is to encourage and foster young, emerging talent and the Pendine Young Musician of Wales competition has all the makings of a very prestigious event. "I think in years to come it will be one of the premier competitions for young musicians and will hopefully assist them and propel them in their careers. "From our perspective it totally fits in with our ethos as an inclusive, inter-generational care group. "We recognise how important the arts are to our lives in all its forms. "Music matters just as much to people who live and work in social care as it does to young and old in the wider society." To enter, applicants must upload a video or audio performance and complete an application form by the deadline of 5pm on Friday, July 4. If under 18, entrants must have permission from a parent or teacher. Submissions will be judged anonymously, and selected candidates will be invited to perform a 10-minute programme in the semi-final. Four will advance to the final round. READ MORE: Aviation enthusiasts get rare glimpse of Swiss aerobatic team at Hawarden Professor Mealor said: "The people who reach the final will all win a generous cash prize while the winner will be presented with a magnificent silver salver donated by Pendine and be invited to perform next year as well." More information and entry forms are available on the festival website at Tickets for the North Wales International Music Festival 2025 will go on sale from Thursday, June 12.
Telegraph
13-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
King and Queen are played song written for 20th anniversary
The King and Queen attended a church service near Balmoral where they heard a new piece of music celebrating their 20th wedding anniversary. Their Majesties waved to onlookers as they exited their car outside the tiny granite Crathie Kirk, near Balmoral, Aberdeenshire, on Sunday. The King was in a kilt and tweed jacket while the Queen wore a blue coat with a tartan lapel and a red hat decorated with a feather. Before entering the church, the couple were given a handwritten manuscript of The Weather of My Being, the new piece composed by Prof Paul Mealor. Prof Mealor, who has created music for a number of royal events including Prince and Princess of Wales's wedding and several of the King's birthdays, also gave the Royal couple a volume containing all the music he composed for their coronation in 2023. The composer said he decided to mark the King and Queen's anniversary by 'set(ting) great poetry to music', which he said combined the King's love of music with the Queen's love of literature. He said: 'So I wrote it, and then sent it to them, and then they said, 'why not perform it now, just literally after the wedding anniversary?' 'So we had the premiere today at the service, which was very powerful'. The new piece was performed by St John's Festival Choir during the hour-long service. Asked for their reaction to hearing the performance, Prof Mealor said: 'They were beaming, it was very nice, and they thanked me very much at the end.' He added that they were 'very touched' to have been given the manuscript of the new piece. The piece is made up of three anniversary songs, with each designed to reflect a different aspect of enduring love. The first song, to a poem by Daniel Hoffman, compares love to the seasons – ever-changing and ever-staying the same – while giving a nod to the King's love of nature and the environment. The second is a setting of words from the Bible's Song of Solomon, and is about the desire for a profound and unwavering love while reflecting the King and Queen's faith. The third and final song is a setting of Robert Burns's famous poem A Red, Red Rose, and reflects the Queen's love and support of literature and reading, as well as the Royal couple's love of Scotland, where they celebrated their honeymoon in 2005. 'Today is very special' The composer said: 'Today is very special because this is the place where they spent their honeymoon, in Birkhall, and so it was lovely, pretty much on the time that they would have been doing that 20 years ago, that we performed this new piece. 'So for me, that was the special thing, and that each of the texts, each of the lyrics, has a real connection to Their Majesties. 'I thought that that was powerful, and then trying to add something new with the music, like any song. So it was very special. Then, having all my friends sing it was lovely.' The couple's actual anniversary on April 2 fell during their state visit to Italy. During their tour, they met with the convalescing Pope at the Vatican and enjoyed a state banquet in their honour. Speaking to the British press during a school visit in the middle of the tour, which ended on Thursday, Queen Camilla said her husband, who is receiving ongoing cancer treatment, 'loves his work' and wants to do 'more and more and more' as he gets better. 'That's the problem,' she added.
Yahoo
13-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
King and Queen are played song written for 20th anniversary
The King and Queen attended a church service near Balmoral where they heard a new piece of music celebrating their 20th wedding anniversary. Their Majesties waved to onlookers as they exited their car outside the tiny granite Crathie Kirk, near Balmoral, Aberdeenshire, on Sunday. The King was in a kilt and tweed jacket while the Queen wore a blue coat with a tartan lapel and a red hat decorated with a feather. Before entering the church, the couple were given a handwritten manuscript of The Weather of My Being, the new piece composed by Prof Paul Mealor. Prof Mealor, who has created music for a number of royal events including Prince and Princess of Wales's wedding and several of the King's birthdays, also gave the Royal couple a volume containing all the music he composed for their coronation in 2023. The composer said he decided to mark the King and Queen's anniversary by 'set(ting) great poetry to music', which he said combined the King's love of music with the Queen's love of literature. He said: 'So I wrote it, and then sent it to them, and then they said, 'why not perform it now, just literally after the wedding anniversary?' 'So we had the premiere today at the service, which was very powerful'. The new piece was performed by St John's Festival Choir during the hour-long service. Asked for their reaction to hearing the performance, Prof Mealor said: 'They were beaming, it was very nice, and they thanked me very much at the end.' He added that they were 'very touched' to have been given the manuscript of the new piece. The piece is made up of three anniversary songs, with each designed to reflect a different aspect of enduring love. The first song, to a poem by Daniel Hoffman, compares love to the seasons – ever-changing and ever-staying the same – while giving a nod to the King's love of nature and the environment. The second is a setting of words from the Bible's Song of Solomon, and is about the desire for a profound and unwavering love while reflecting the King and Queen's faith. The third and final song is a setting of Robert Burns's famous poem A Red, Red Rose, and reflects the Queen's love and support of literature and reading, as well as the Royal couple's love of Scotland, where they celebrated their honeymoon in 2005. The composer said: 'Today is very special because this is the place where they spent their honeymoon, in Birkhall, and so it was lovely, pretty much on the time that they would have been doing that 20 years ago, that we performed this new piece. 'So for me, that was the special thing, and that each of the texts, each of the lyrics, has a real connection to Their Majesties. 'I thought that that was powerful, and then trying to add something new with the music, like any song. So it was very special. Then, having all my friends sing it was lovely.' The couple's actual anniversary on April 2 fell during their state visit to Italy. During their tour, they met with the convalescing Pope at the Vatican and enjoyed a state banquet in their honour. Speaking to the British press during a school visit in the middle of the tour, which ended on Thursday, Queen Camilla said her husband, who is receiving ongoing cancer treatment, 'loves his work' and wants to do 'more and more and more' as he gets better. 'That's the problem,' she added. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
