Talented young musicians from Gwent are being urged to enter a new competition.

The Pendine Young Musician of Wales contest is part of the North Wales International Music Festival, held at St Asaph Cathedral from September 12 to 21.

The competition, funded by Pendine Park care organisation, offers a £2,000 cash prize and the Pendine Trophy to the winner, along with an invitation to perform at next year’s festival.

Entries are accepted via the festival’s website, www.nwimf.com, with a deadline of 5pm on Friday, September 6. The competition is open to anyone who was born in, lives in or studying in Wales.

The Grand Final will take place at St Asaph Cathedral on September 18 at 7pm. The final will be broadcast on BBC Radio Cymru.

Professor Paul Mealor, the event's artistic director, said: "I am very excited about my first festival.

"I grew up here in St Asaph and I sang in the cathedral choir and my first experience of high quality classical music was here at the festival.

"The competition will be judged by four of the top musicians around the world.

"This can be a launching pad for a fledgling career because you’re performing to top class people."

The competition will be judged by Alun Jones, singer and the former principal of Chetham’s School of Music; Alis Huws, the former harpist to the Prince of Wales; world renowned concert pianist, Cyrill Ibrahim; and Lisa Tregale, director of the BBC National Orchestra and Chorus of Wales.

Mario Kreft MBE, a benefactor to the arts in North Wales, said: "We’re delighted to be able to support the festival again this year and we’re particularly pleased to be able to help launch the exciting new competition for Wales’s finest young musicians."

The festival will feature a community opera, performances by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Foden’s Band, and Ar Log.

The Festival Fringe will include an RnB/hip-hop concert, Welsh folk music, a poetry and literary evening, and a North Wales Comedy Night.

The event is supported by the Arts Council of Wales, Colwinston Charitable Trust, and the UK government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund for Denbighshire.