This June, the Northern Aldborough Festival, situated in rural Yorkshire, will be hosting the New Voices Singing Competition, a national singing competition aimed at finding outstanding classical vocal talent aged between 21-32 years across the UK.

Eight semi-finalists have been shortlisted from music colleges across the country for this competition, which includes cash prizes totalling £7k and provides winners with performance opportunities.

The prizes comprise The Seastock Trust Prize of £5,000 for the first place, a second prize of £1,500 funded by The Yorkshire Music Future Fund, and an Audience Prize of £500 for the third place. As part of the prize package, winners will get the chance to perform at different UK festivals, including Leeds Lieder, Newbury Spring Festival, Ryedale Festival, and Music@Malling.

The judging panel features various established names in the classical music industry, including soprano Dame Felicity Lott, Christian Curnyn, the artistic director of The Early Opera Company; Joseph Middleton, director of Leeds Lieder; and Robert Ogden, artistic director of the Northern Aldborough Festival. The panel will be chaired by Sir Andrew Lawson-Tancred, chairman of the Northern Aldborough Festival.

The semi-finals will take place on 20 June at 12pm and 3pm at St Andrew’s Church in Aldborough, with the grand finale scheduled for 21 June at 7.30pm.