Latest news with #PendineYoungMusicianofWales
South Wales Argus
20 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
20 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
2 days 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.
Leader Live
25-05-2025
- General
- Leader Live
Wrexham: Hillbury House celebrates 60 years of care
Hillbury House, built in 1864 for businessman John Bury, became a care home in 1965 and was taken over by the Catholic Order of the Sisters of Nazareth, who ran it until 2005 as Nazareth House. In 2005, it became part of the Pendine Park care organisation, founded by Mario Kreft MBE and his wife, Gill. Mr Kreft said: 'It was built in 1864 for John Bury who was well known locally and was one of the founders of the Wrexham War Memorial Hospital. "In building the house, they dug into a Bronze Age burial mound and found a number of artefacts which were given to the Wrexham Museum. 'Gill and I were looking for somewhere to open a care home in 1985 because we wanted a place suitable for our elderly grandparents which would provide the level of care we wanted for them. 'A property in Llandudno was set up but it fell through at the last minute and Gwern Alyn became available in Wrexham which was another of the areas we were looking. 'Converting Gwern Alyn into a care home was the start of the Pendine story and choosing Wrexham was the right decision for us.' He added: "We started with 14 residents at Gwern Alyn and now we're up to 440 at our nine care homes in Wrexham and Caernarfon. "Later this year, we will welcome our 6,000th resident and at the same time we employ 864 people and what we do supports the NHS." The Krefts were the first care organisation in Wales to employ an artist in residence. Thirty years later, the person they appointed, Sarah Edwards, is still working with them as a consultant, along with a musician in residence, a creative practitioner, and an army of enrichment co-ordinators. The couple have also launched the Pendine Arts and Communities Trust, which supports a host of community and arts-related activities. This includes the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod, where they sponsor the Pendine International Voice of the Future competition, and the North Wales International Music Festival, where they sponsor the Pendine Young Musician of Wales competition. Mrs Kreft, a chartered accountant, also set up the influential Wrexham Business Professionals group to promote regional prosperity and shine a light on the enterprise and expertise that exists in the region. Both care homes are run by manager Cindy Clutton, who began her own career in care in 1982 aged just 15, working at weekends and in the school holidays at Nazareth House, as Hillbury was then called. She said: "My mum was there and she had always worked in care and I went there when I was still in school and I enjoyed it so when I finished school I went on to take a YTS - Youth Training Scheme - in care and started with Clwyd County Council in their home at Wren's Nest in Rhosddu. "I joined Pendine in 2000 at Gwern Alyn and they took over Nazareth House and I became acting manager of Gwern Alyn and Hillbury and the rest is history. "Mario had encouraged me to my Level Five management course and gave me the support I needed and I've been at the two homes ever since. "I've really enjoyed it. "It's a challenging job but it's also very rewarding when you see the residents all smiling and happy. "I still love coming to work each day." Mr Kreft said: "Four decades on and Pendine Park has become a very, very important community asset for Wrexham and 10 years ago we opened Bryn Seiont Newydd in Caernarfon. MORE NEWS: "We were the very first in the UK to deliver what in those days were NVQs – National Vocational Qualifications – although the skills you need as a carer are not something everyone can do and you don't really learn them at a college. "It's about empathy and emotional intelligence and you probably either have or don't have that by the time you leave primary school." Mr Kreft has also found time to become a campaigner for the social care sector, founding both Care Forum Wales, which represents around 500 independent providers, and the Wales Care Awards, to recognise frontline care workers.
