He was enormously talented, hugely driven and an endlessly enthusiastic supporter of Welsh music, who will be well known to readers of this blog. This is a personal tribute from a colleague, manager and friend for over 15 years.

James McLaren

I first met James at Cardiff University in 1996. He was a rather earnest long-haired young fresher and I was in the year above, and we found a shared love of music which bordered on obsessiveness. His knowledge of music seemed to begin in 1990 and end in 1994, but boy could he remember the chart positions of those early Pearl Jam singles.

We spent many hours working on the student newspaper Gair Rhydd, which led to nascent careers in journalism. He went on to work for Big Issue Cymru and the Welsh Music Foundation (WMF) before joining the BBC in 2006.

At the WMF he edited Sound Nation, a free monthly magazine containing music industry news and advice for musicians, labels, gig promoters and fans. Wales' only national music magazine was an important source of information, and his energy and passion for his subject was authentic and relentless. He was a well-known figure in the Welsh music scene who forged close and enduring friendships with many local musicians.

When Sound Nation closed in December 2005 he was made redundant from the WMF. He spent just one day out of work before I called to offer him some freelance work. I knew that he had the skills and talent to really make a difference in our online team. He adapted quickly to moving from print to digital despite being a self-confessed technical dunce. He enjoyed reminding me that he had been the first person to show me how to use the web, in the days when AltaVista and Yahoo! were at the cutting edge of technology.

He worked across a broad range of websites, including history and nature, but music was his real passion. He took over the BBC Wales Music website and gave it new life, and worked with news and radio to find the best way to break stories or inform readers and listeners. He was bold and tenacious and never afraid to give his all in pursuit of a story, all admirable qualities in any journalist.

Outside of work his main passions were rock music, good food and fine wine. He lived in Cardiff with his girlfriend Cazz, and Juno and Ella, their two beloved Flat-Coated Retrievers.

Writing about James in the past tense is an odd experience, and the shock of losing him is still raw. Right now there's a desk to my left full of the detritus of modern office life: half-drunk coffee mugs, discarded newspapers, CDs and scrawled-upon Post-it notes. And it's filled with James' presence and spirit, which will outlast any physical memento. He will be greatly missed.

Yesterday was the first day of competition here at Llangollen and I was rushed off my feet. The Eisteddfod truly started at a gallop. It was the day of the youth choirs, always one of my favourite competitions.

Wyn Davies with a choir competing at Llangollen

Ever since working with our own male youth choir, Only Boys Aloud, I've been passionate about giving young people the stage to display their talents. As you can see from the picture, I've been spending time with the choirs gauging their mood pre-performance and then grabbing them for a quick chat as soon as they come off stage, and all in all there were plenty of happy faces.

I even managed to pick up a few Irish dancing moves (I use the words 'pick up' very loosely) during the course of the day. I doubt I'll be heading over to the Emerald Isle to give a master class any time soon!

All in all, even though the heavens opened from time to time, it was a great day here on the maes and reminded me why I've always loved coming to Llangollen. Time to put the feet up now, wring out the socks and prepare for the rest of the week!

I started competing in Llangollen when I was small, and luckily enough managed to win the junior folk song solo on two occasions - as a 10- and 11-year-old. I've got two Llangollen medals in pride of place in my mother's cabinet at home, so I've got a bit of an affinity with the place.

Wyn Davies

I used to look forward to it every year, and just enjoyed the whole experience, going to see the parade and being on the Maes. I always love the parade - I look forward to seeing all the people in traditional costumes celebrating their culture; it's very special.

As well as giving a general flavour of the Eisteddfod, I'll be hooking up with two choirs that I filmed with in South Africa. One is the Fezeta choir, started in the Guguletu township just outside Cape Town who will be taking part in the Karl Jenkins concert.

The other is the Pietermaritzburg Midlands Youth Choir, made up of pupils from 14 different schools with very different backgrounds, who will be competing. Given South Africa's recent past it's fantastic to see all these young people coming together just because they have this common interest in music.

It's a massive stage to perform on. Particularly when I was a 10-year-old, to go and stand on that stage and look out at that enormous auditorium, it's quite a feeling! When you're competing, it's not always full, but luckily enough, when I won the folk song solo I went on to perform at one of the concerts in the evening, when it's jam-packed.

And I was also there with Only Men Aloud a couple of years ago - it was much less daunting having the choir with me, than singing on my own as a boy, but equally enjoyable. The great thing about Llangollen is that you always have a very knowledgeable audience who love their music. It makes performing on stage even more rewarding.

All in all I've got good memories of Llangollen - it's a lovely place and more than that, it's a fantastic experience.

The festival takes place from 3-8 July. Llangollen 2012 is on BBC Two Wales on Friday, 6 July at 10pm. Share your photos of the festival on the BBC Summer in Wales Facebook page.

Llŷr Williams

Pianist Llŷr Williams beat classical music titans Sir Colin Davis and Sir Harrison Birtwistle to win the Classical Music South Bank Show Award on 1 May at The Dorchester in London.

This self-effacing, serious performer does not seek the media spotlight, but his rare insight and musicality are winning him an increasingly large worldwide fan base for his solo performances and chamber music and song collaborations.

The award was for Llŷr's Beethoven piano cycle at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2011, in which he performed all 32 sonatas at Greyfriars Kirk over a two week period. This is a mammoth undertaking, ranging across Beethoven's output from the early, classical-style pieces to the incredibly intense, introverted sound world resulting from the composer's total deafness.

The cycle was the surprise hit of the 2011 Fringe, attracting the attention of all the major national press. Reviewers included The Guardian's Fiona Maddocks: "I heard three of Llŷr Williams's complete Beethoven piano sonatas recitals at Greyfriars Kirk, each yet better than the last. Inward and serious... Williams communes with the piano as if seeking new layers in a palimpsest. The results, as in the Op 10 set last Monday, can be revelatory." The concerts soon became sell-outs.

After the ceremony, Llŷr said: "It is a great honour for me to receive this award and it is particularly fitting that is should be presented for a big project of substance."

He plans to repeat the Beethoven marathon in London and Glasgow.

Leaders of the contemporary British arts scene gathered to celebrate the awards, now in their 16th year, representing the entire spectrum of British arts. Other winners this year included Michael Frayn, Grayson Perry, Kate Bush, Claire Tomalin, Terry Gilliam and the BBC's Sherlock team.

Llŷr Williams was born in 1976 in Pentrebychan, north Wales, read music at The Queen's College, Oxford and went on to take up a postgraduate scholarship at the Royal Academy of Music where he won every available prize and award. As well as his recital work, he performs as soloist with orchestras across the world, collaborates with violinist Alexander Janiczek and has a strong interest in the Lieder and song repertoire. Since 2003, he has been one of the official accompanists for BBC Cardiff Singer of the World.

Natalya Romaniw

It was also a very good week for soprano Natalya Romaniw, who represented Wales in the 2009 BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition, reaching the song prize final.

On 27 April, she received both the main and song prizes in the prestigious Kathleen Ferrier Awards, the first time any singer has won in both categories. Rupert Christiansen was there for the Daily Telegaph: " ...there can be no argument that the winner of both the first and song prize is potentially a world-class talent... Natalya Romaniw has a thrillingly large and resonant soprano, which one day could enable her to embrace the big Verdi roles."

Natalya comes from Swansea and studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, receiving the coveted gold medal in her final year. She is currently associate artist with the Classical Opera Company and joins Houston Grand Opera's prestigious Young Artist Programme in autumn 2012.

From the passionate and talented musicians eager to be part of this musical journey, 122 were selected to be heard again in the second round, the category auditions, with 25 been offered a place at the category finals in March - Monday-Friday, March 5-9 - with the semi-final on Sunday 11 March, both at the Dora Stoutzker Hall.

Marking 34 years since BBC Young Musician was launched, an astonishing 453 applications were received for 2012 with 404 hopefuls auditioned across the United Kingdom during the regional auditions.

Paul Bullock, series editor of BBC Young Musician, says: "We are thoroughly looking forward to welcoming a new wave of outstanding young musical talent to Cardiff for the next stage of the contest.

"We're also 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."

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 receiving a place in 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 BBC Four and BBC Two.

Rhian Williams, producer of BBC Young Musician, says: "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."

Previous winners and finalists have gone on to major international careers with recent winners such as Jennifer Pike, Guy Johnston and Nicola Benedetti now enjoying great success, not only as soloists but also as recording artists.

Pianist Lara Melda, winner of BBC Young Musician 2010, explains how the competition has supported her career so far:

"Taking part in such a prestigious event has already given me several exhilarating performing opportunities all over the UK and beyond, from performing with the Borusan Philharmonic Orchestra in Istanbul to the Antakya Piano Festival in Turkey and a performance in Japan in 2012."

To launch the week, BBC Young Musician includes an evening of short recitals at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama on Sunday, March 4 as part of Music Nation Cymru, with performances from past winners; violinist Jennifer Pike (BBC Young Musician 2002), trombonist Peter Moore (BBC Young Musician 2008) and percussionist Lucy Landymore (BBC Young Musician 2010 Percussion Category Winner).

For the latest news, history of the competition and to see previous performances, visit bbc.co.uk/youngmusician

The venue for the final will be announced in January.

Category finals

• Keyboard - Monday 5 March, 7pm
• Brass - Tuesday 6 March, 7pm
• Strings - Wednesday 7 March, 7pm
• Woodwind - Thursday 8 March, 7pm
• Percussion - Friday 9 March, 7pm

Semi-final: Sunday 11 March, 7pm

BBC Young Musician recital - Music Nation Cymru, Sunday 4 March, 7pm

Tickets: £6, student/child concession £3

Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama box office: 029 2039 1391. Open Monday to Friday 10am - 5pm to purchase tickets by telephone or in person. Answering machine in operation outside of opening hours. Standard geographic charges from landlines and mobiles will apply and calls may be included in your telecom provider's call package.

A £1.75 transaction fee applies to all bookings made online with an optional postage charge of 70p.

Payments made by credit/debit card must be over the value of £5. A 50p fee applies to all credit card transactions made in person or telephone. No fees apply to bookings made by debit card.

Mega Messiah poster

A major part of Christmas for many classical music lovers in Wales is getting their annual Messiah 'fix' - whether it's taking part or being in the audience. Handel's most famous piece - the Hallelujah Chorus is arguably the most recognizable piece of music in the world - has always had a special place in the Welsh heart.

The Welsh fondness for oratorio goes back to the middle of the 19th century. Through a combination of the strong Nonconformist chapel community, with its tradition of congregational singing in harmony, and the setting up of choirs and bands associated with factories and mines, everyone was singing.

Ambitious conductors wanted their choirs to win medals in competitions, and the popularity of the Tonic Solfa system for learning music and the publication of the cheap Novello scores made it possible for choirs to learn these substantial pieces of music more easily than ever before.

The subject matter of the great oratorios, often based on Old Testament stories, were close to the hearts of the many devout chapelgoers. These pieces were often very dramatic in nature, in particular Mendelssohn's Elijah, but didn't involve the great cost of staging opera. An oratorio could easily be put on in the local church, chapel or village hall, accompanied by the organ or a small orchestra. Famous soloists were often booked to take part, and performances were so frequent that the train between Cardiff and Merthyr became known as the 'Messiah Express'.

Messiah in particular had everything going for it as far as the Welsh audience was concerned, with its subject matter ranging from the Old Testament prophecies through to the New Testament Resurrection. It's usually performed in the lead up to Christmas, and less often before Easter. It's full of beautiful solos and rousing choruses but also moments of orchestral serenity, and everyone has their particular favourite numbers.

Another reason for Messiah's popularity is that, while it isn't easy, most of the choruses are within the capability of most choirs. But perhaps it's because choristers in Wales are so familiar with Messiah that it doesn't take long to get it back up to speed every year.

If you're within striking range of Cardiff, there are several Messiahs coming up that will scratch your itch. The first, known as Mega Messiah, is in the afternoon of Sunday 6 November in the Wales Millennium Centre; you can either sign up to bring your copy and sing, along with hundreds filling the stalls, or just listen as a member of the audience.

Then, the Cardiff Polyphonic Choir give their performance at St David's Hall on Sunday 4 December. And if you're feeling more like a pre-Easter Messiah, yet another of Cardiff's great music venues - the new Dora Stoutzker Hall in the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama - hosts the Cantemus Chamber Choir Wales' version on Saturday 31 March.

Day tickets go on sale tomorrow morning, 4 May. Further acts have also been revealed, and include Kelis, The Cribs, The Joy Formidable, Neon Trees, Wolf Gang, Tek One, Noisettes, Pulled Apart By Horses and Innerpartysystem.

They join previously announced headliners Ellie Goulding, Chase and Status, The Wombats and Biffy Clyro. Other acts due to play over the weekend include Kids In Glass Houses, Example, Chiddy Bang, Wretch 32 and Kissy Sellout.

More information on tickets and acts, as well as the wakeboarding schedule and camping options, are on the Wakestock website.

Singer-songwriter Gareth Bonello, who performs as The Gentle Good, wrote The 29th Of April for the recent Laugharne Festival where he was performing with Richard James, co-founder of Gorky's Zygotic Mynci.

He said the festival this year had taken the theme of weddings, and Richard invited him to write something appropriate.

Gareth Bonello, The Gentle Good

The country-style acoustic waltz - available online - tells the story of a man whose own wedding on 29 April has been overshadowed by that of Prince William and Kate Middleton, whose nuptials his friends and family would rather watch.

"I've not been to many weddings myself so I thought it would be a good idea to write about the royal wedding," he said. "The reaction has been pretty positive - I was expecting more negative comments.

"I think a lot of people are mainly indifferent to the wedding. I've always had an anti-monarchist streak and believe we'd be better off as an elected republic.

"I kept it subtle until the last couple of lines where I felt I had to be blunt."

You can listen to the recording on SoundCloud (warning: the last two lines contain strong language).

The original work, Ubi caritas, written by 35-year-old composer Paul Mealor, was premièred last October at St Andrew's University. The request to use it at the wedding came as a total surprise to Mealor, who was born on Anglesey.

"I was thrilled to hear that HRH Prince William of Wales had chosen my music for his wedding. How humbling it is for me to know that Prince William and Catherine will celebrate the beginning of their lives together with my music. The ceremony is going to be, without a doubt, the most emotionally intense and exhilarating hour of my life!"

Mealor has had to keep his extraordinary news a secret, even from his family. Only when the choral work is actually performed at the service will it be revealed to the world. The performance will be by the Choir of Westminster Abbey and the Choir of Her Majesty's Chapel Royal, St James's Palace, conducted by James O'Donnell.

The entire wedding ceremony, including Ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est (Where charity and love are, God is there), will be recorded and made available digitally the same day, with physical copies going on sale from 4 May.

Kayley Thomas from Good Morning Wales has been following the band all year. When she posed the question of recording a Christmas track, she thought they'd find it all a bit naff - but found she couldn't get them into the studio quick enough! The whole band were there, check out drummer Phil on the sleigh bells!

Good Morning Wales' Kayley Thomas has been following the band's progress over the year as part of the programme's Ones to Watch in 2010. She's also been following opera singer Catrin Aur Davies from Beulah, Actress Georgia Henshaw from Swansea to see if they could make it big in 2010.

Catrin was snapped up by Glyndebourne - one of the largest Opera Houses in the UK, and internationally renowned. Georgia starred in Skins (on E4), filmed Sea Monsters (coming out in 2011), Shelfstackers (BBC 2) and got a part on Steve Coogan's new HBO comedy Documental, rapping in a spandex purple leotard!

Kids In Glass Houses released their second album, toured with fellow Welsh rockers Lostprophets, toured in Japan and Australia, got to support their childhood heroes Stereophonics at the first ever gig at Cardiff City Stadium.

They also released Undercover Lover, featuring Frankie from girl group The Saturdays, capped off a phenomenal year with a headline tour and plan to do it all again next year.

The singer, 70, was presented with the award by film director Tim Burton, in front of an audience of 1,100 which included Sir George Martin, Michael Ball and Rob Brydon. Video tributes by Priscilla Presley, Paul Anka, Don Black and Ethan Jones were also screened at the charity dinner, now in its 19th year, at London's Grosvenor House Hotel.

Tim Burton said of Sir Tom: "He's great. He's just the kind of person you like being around and he's just got that energy that is, like I said, there's not many people I've met in my life who are, you just feel that way, you know and so he's really a special person...I tried to learn something from it that way but I'm not as cool as he is."

Following a brief speech, Sir Tom took to the stage to perform hits including What's New Pussycat and It's Not Unusual, accompanied by fellow Welsh musicians Cerys Matthews and Kelly Jones.

Previous recipients of the Music Industry Trust Award include Sir Elton John, Peter Gabriel, Kylie Minogue and John Barry. The award has raised £4m to date for its two charities, Nordoff Robbins and the Brit Trust.

Welsh comedian Rob Brydon was among those paying tribute to Sir Tom, saying: "In Wales he's like a deity you know. I think everybody in Wales is just very proud of him, you know, for the way he has put the country on the map and I think a lot of Welsh men live vicariously through him. They kind of read about him and they see him here and there in the world living this kind of Austin Powers life and they go: 'Oh yeah, go on Tom.'"

The costumes were worn in the group's video for Golden Retriever, and in a number of onstage appearances, and on the cover of the 2004 live single The Man Don't Give A F**k. Other items loaned by SFA to the university's archive include stage costumes and posters.

Still from Super Furry Animals' 2003 video for Golden Retriever

Dr Craig Owen Jones from the university's School of Music said: "The pop archive was established two years ago as a collection of all sorts of items relating to Welsh pop music from the 1940s to the present day.

"We now have thousands of items, including posters from bands such as Y Blew and Y Trwynau Coch, magazines such as Asbri, Sgrech a Sothach and varied contributions from artists and labels such as Brigyn, Ectogram, Ankst, Gorky's Zygotic Mynci and others.

"We're very pleased that Gruff and the band decided o contribute their memorabilia to the collection. The archive includes many items from the 1960s and 70s, but it's important that we preserve every part of our musical heritage, which also includes what's going on in today's Welsh rock scene.

"We are currently filming video interviews with musicians and people involved with Welsh pop, which we aim to store in the archive to create a unique collection for any future researchers."

Men in SFA's yeti costumes outside a Cardiff record shop, 2003

From 9 January 2011, the current two-hour Nations shows that support the best new unsigned, underground and under the radar music from England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland will move from Wednesday (into Thursday, 12am-2am) to Sunday (into Monday) from 12am-2am.

In addition, for the first time BBC Radio 1 will simulcast one in three of the shows across a nation and England. This will happen on a rotational basis with each of the three DJs (from Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) being given the opportunity to boost their show's profile to a wider audience.

Alongside Rory McConnell (Northern Ireland), two new presenters are set to host the programmes in Scotland and Wales. Ally McCrae, 23, joins Radio 1 to present the show in Scotland and Jen Long, 25, will front the Wales show.

Jen Long

Jen is the broadcast assistant on the current Wales show and this is her first presenting role. She says: "I'm incredibly honoured to be taking over the show in Wales and really excited about all the amazing new music I'll get to inflict on people's ears. It's gonna be awesome."

Ben Cooper, Deputy Controller, BBC Radio 1, says: "The BBC Trust asked us to appeal to the next generation of young audiences, and within that to look for the next generation of new talent - and Ally and Jen are just that.

"Ally's enthusiasm and local knowledge is extremely impressive so we look forward to him bringing this to Radio 1 and Jen's passion for music and experience will ensure the show continues to champion the best in new music coming out of Wales.

"I'd like to thank Vic and Bethan for their passion and commitment to unearthing new music in Scotland and Wales respectively. They've made a great contribution to the station and we wish them well for the future."

As a result of the changes, Radio 1 will bid farewell to Scotland's Vic Galloway and Wales' Bethan Elfyn who, over the past eleven years, have played a pivotal role in shaping the station's commitment to new music. Both presenters remain in the BBC family with Vic on Radio Scotland and Bethan on Radio Wales.

Bethan Elfyn says: "After over 11 years at the helm, I'm sad to say I'll be leaving the post, but happy to see that there are exciting plans for the show and a continued commitment to music from Wales, indeed best of luck to my successor Jen Long whose has a wonderful energy and passion for music.

"I'm proud of the roll call of bands we've seen come through the studios including Lostprophets, Bullet for My Valentine, Funeral For A Friend, The Blackout, Kids In Glass Houses, Los Campesinos!, High Contrast and most surprisingly probably, Duffy. More recently Race Horses, Cate Le Bon and Islet are all quickly becoming the most talked about acts in Wales."

The Nations shows on Thursday 30 December will be a broadcast of each of the presenters' favourite ever show and on Thursday 6 January there'll be a 'United Nations' special featuring all the presenters together from a live gig.

The new Nations show replaces the two-hour catch-up zone in the Radio 1 weekend schedule; and Huw Stephens will present the Wednesday night (into Thursday) 12am-2am slot.

John was joined for the session by his TV presenter brother Steve Jones, who duetted together on the song The Last Great Rhondda Romance. The pair also agreed to be filmed for a chat, and here it is, courtesy of the BBC Introducing in Wales team.

Thanks to Ed Richmond for the video. You can see John's duet with Steve on the BBC Introducing site until Thursday 22 July.

Steve Jones is currently appearing in the Saturday night BBC One programme 101 Ways to Leave a Gameshow.

Said to be the oldest record shop in the world, Spillers will close its doors in The Hayes for a final time this Saturday before moving to new premises elsewhere in the city.

Spillers was opened by Henry Spiller in Queen's Arcade in 1894, selling music on wax cylinders and shellac discs. In the late 1940s it moved to its current location at 36 The Hayes, where it became something of a Mecca for many south Wales music lovers.

Famous customers have included Manic Street Preachers, Cerys Matthews, Super Furry Animals and The Zutons. Signatories of a 2007 petition to keep the shop open in the face of rising city centre rents included Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Beyoncé and Justin Timberlake.

Owner Nick Todd is said to be discussing a move to either the Royal or Morgan Arcade with landlords Helical Bar.

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