The search to find the 2012 BBC Young Musician of the Year is already under way, and for the first time will be held at the new Dora Stoutzker Hall at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama in Cardiff.

Venue

Recently, 122 candidates have been whittled down to be heard again at the category finals between 5th – 9th March, with the semi-final on Sunday, March 11th at the refurbished venue in the Welsh capital.

453 applications were initially received for 2012 with 404 hopefuls auditioned across the United Kingdom during the regional auditions.

Outstanding

Paul Bullock, series editor, BBC Young Musician said: “We are thoroughly looking forward to welcoming a new wave of outstanding young musical talent to Cardiff.

We’re delighted to be returning to the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama where I’m certain the 25 category finalists will enjoy the outstanding new facilities and the excellent acoustics of the Dora Stoutzker Hall that opened earlier this year."

Adjudicators

Five performers per category will perform in front of a panel of respected adjudicators and audience at the category finals, with the five successful category winners going through to the Semi-Final.

From these, just three will be selected to go through to the BBC Young Musician 2012 Final in May.

Audiences at home will not be disappointed as performances will be recorded for broadcast on BBC4 and BBC2.

The standard of performance in the category auditions last week was truly astounding!Producer, Rhian Williams

Astounding

Rhian Williams, producer BBC Young Musician added: "The standard of performance in the category auditions last week was truly astounding!

I'm very much looking forward to hearing the 25 performers selected to go through to the 2012 category finals again when they make their way to Cardiff in March."

Recital

To launch the category week, there will be an evening of short recitals on Sunday, March 4th as part of Music Nation Cymru, with performances from past winners including 2008 winner, trombonist Peter Moore.