Many composers are working in the classical idiom in Wales, and probably the best known is Karl Jenkins, with Guto Puw receiving popular acclaim with the Radio 3 Listeners' Award in the 2007 British Composer Awards. Distinguished composers from the past include Joseph Parry, Grace Williams, William Mathias and Alun Hoddinott.
St David's Hall, Cardiff is Wales' national concert hall, with frequent classical concerts including those of its Orchestra in Residence, the BBC National Orchestra of Wales. The orchestra now also has its own purpose-built smaller venue, BBC Hoddinott Hall, at the Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff Bay. The Donald Gordon Hall at the Wales Millennium Centre, Brangwyn Hall, Swansea and Venue Cymru in Llandudno all provide large-scale, fine performance venues for all kinds of music and music theatre.
Educational establishments provide programmes of events in their performance spaces. These include William Aston Hall, Wrexham, Bangor University's Powis Hall and Prichard-Jones Hall; Aberystwyth Arts Centre and the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama in Cardiff.
Throughout the summer, Wales is very well served by music festivals, large and small, catering for a very wide range of musical tastes. There's Bryn Terfel's four-day Faenol Festival; the two-week Swansea Festival; the internationally-renowned Vale of Glamorgan contemporary music festival; smaller scale events festivals such as Lower Machen and Llantilio Crossenny festivals, representing just a cross-section of the many and varied events available.
Wales has become a major destination for competitions, attracting international classical talent scouts looking to sign up the next big star. As well as hosting the long-established BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Competition, Wales has also been home to the Menuhin Competition for young violinists, the BBC Young Musician of the Year and Choir of the Year. So, with all this classical talent coming up through Wales, the future looks very bright!
Words: Viv Goldberg
