The winner of the 2010 Bryn Terfel Scholarship is Elgan Llŷr Thomas, who is 20 years old and comes from Craig y Don, Llandudno.
At the end of a great night of competing at the Pontrhydfendigaid Pavilion, broadcast live on S4C on Sunday 17 October, the Chairman of the Jury, Tudur Dylan Jones, announced that Elgan was the winner of the Scholarship, worth £4,000. He said it had been a close contest, but the judges were unanimous in their decision to declare Elgan the worthy winner of the award this year.
Elgan was clearly in shock when he heard he had come out on top, and said it was an honor to win the Scholarship. He also said he is a great admirer of Bryn Terfel. His intention is to spend the £4,000 on his studies as a student at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester. He hopes to develop a career in opera, and also wishes to take part in musicals in the West End in the future.
Elgan’s mentor for the competition was Rhydian Roberts, who came to fame, of course, competition in TV's the X-factor. "The master class with Rhydian was great," Elgan said. "It was a surreal experience but it was extremely valuable."
