Finalists Announced For 2018 Welsh Musical Theatre Young Singer Of The Year

The 16th annual Welsh Musical Theatre Young Singer Of The Year competition kicked off on Saturday February 17 with the preliminary round held at Gowerton School. Thirty highly talented vocalists aged between 16 and 28 performed a programme of songs to adjudicators Vivien Care, Clare Hammacott and Michael Morwood and an audience of musical theatre fans. Song choices were an eclectic mix of musical theatre fare, ranging from Pasek and Paul's "Never Enough" (The Greatest Showman) and Sarah Bareilles' "She Used To Be Mine" (Waitress) to Rodgers and Hammerstein's "Younger Than Springtime" (South Pacific) and Frank Loesser's "Sit Down, You're Rocking The Boat" (Guys And Dolls) and much in between.

After careful deliberation, the adjudicators determined that the four competitors who will proceed to the final of the 2018 competition are Emily Barratt, Ffion Edwards, Leah Kate Pinney and Eiean O'Riordan.

The final will be held at the Taliesin Arts Centre in Swansea on Saturday May 5. On the evening of the final there will also be performances by the Dunvant Male Choir, who have been the organizers of the competition since its inception - and by the 2017 winner, Ben Thomas.

A number of West End stars are former winners of the competition, including Olivier Award winner David Thaxton (Les Miserables, Passion, Love Never Dies), Connie Fisher (The Sound Of Music, They're Playing Our Song), Hayley Gallivan (Wicked, Grease, Spring Awakening) and Kit Orton (Tom, Spamalot, Dickens Abridged).