Today (17 November) S4C launches the Cân i Gymru 2012 songwriting competition with an invitation for composers from Wales and beyond to try for the prize of £7,500 and the honour of representing Wales in the Pan Celtic Festival next year.
Musicians Steve Balsamo and Ynyr Roberts were last year’s winners with the song Rhywun yn Rhywle (Someone Somewhere). The singer from Mochdre, Tesni Jones, performed the winning song on the night.
This year Ynyr encourages songwriters to compete because the experience has been a great boost to his career.
“I would recommend that people try the competition. It’s been very good for my career as a songwriter since it’s given me the chance to write for other artists and it’s been a good way to develop contacts with the press and other writers and performers,” he says before admitting that winning the competition saw him achieve an ambition of a lifetime.
“I’ve always wanted to win Cân i Gymru. I’ve been a fan of the competition since the 80s and I will definitely be following the events again this year,” says Ynyr.
Following its success in Cân i Gymru, Rhywun yn Rhywle went on to win Best International Song at the Pan Celtic Festival in Ireland.
In 2011 Cân i Gymru received more entries than ever before and the organisers are optimistic that the response will be as good, if not better, this year. So don’t delay - the closing date is on Monday 9 January.
Entries by composers can be on CD, cassette or .mp3 and must be accompanied by an entry form, which is available, along with full competition details, at the Cân i Gymru website: s4c.co.uk/canigymru. The minimum age for entry is 16.
Eight songs will be selected for a shortlist by a jury of experts. The eight songs will compete in a live programme from the Bont Pavilion, Pontrhydfendigaid on 4 March, 2012.
In addition to the main prize, there is also a prize of £2,000 for second place and third place will be awarded £1,000.
The Cân i Gymru competition is produced for S4C by Avanti. For further information on the competition, please contact Avanti on 02920 838 149 or canigymru2012@avantimedia.tv.
