An Aberystwyth violinist will battle it out this weekend against the best young musicians in Wales for a coveted prize.

This Friday, six of Wales’ most promising young performers will be competing for the 2019 Urdd Gobaith Cymru Bryn Terfel Scholarship.

Former Penglais pupil Thomas Mathias, 23, will play the violin on stage in Barry as one of the six finalists.

After receiving his secondary education at Penglais School and studying at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, Tom is now a postgraduate student at the Royal Academy in London.

He was fortunate to receive an ABRSM Scholarship to study at the Academy.

He performed as part of the Tosca orchestra, a Welsh National Opera production in Dubai with Sir Bryn Terfel in April 2019.

Over the years Tom has performed on stages in the USA, Canada and across Europe.

As well as battling for the prestige of winning the Bryn Terfel, the winner will receive a cash prize of £4,000 to develop their talent for the future,

This year’s winner will also have the opportunity to perform at one of the worldwide St David’s Day 2020 celebrations.

The judges, who will have the difficult task of choosing this year’s winner, will be Jeremy Huw Williams, Ffion Dafis, Einir Wyn Jones, Cerian Mai Phillips and Glain Dafydd.

See this week’s south papers for the full story, available in shops and as a digital edition on Wednesday