Flintshire tenor wins Welsh Singers prize 2010

Bryn Terfel presented John Pierce with his award

A 27-year-old Flintshire tenor has won the Welsh Singers Competition 2010.

John Pierce, from Holywell, will now represent Wales at the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition in 2011.

Bass baritone Bryn Terfel announced Mr Pierce as the winner at the final of the biennial competition in Cardiff.

Mr Pierce said he was "shocked" by the victory, which came just eight weeks after the birth of his first child, Sophie.

The win means he has fulfilled his grandmother's ambition to become an opera singer.

He added: "My maternal grandmother had a talent for singing - she was offered a place at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama at the age of 13, but due to financial restrictions she could not take up her place and pursue a musical career.

"My mother inherited her singing abilities and for a few years she sang with a local amateur operatic society.

"My grandmother and my parents encouraged me to develop my singing skills and have been a great source of inspiration and support over the years."

As well as a place at the Cardiff Singer of the World, he also won £2,000 and a trophy.

The concert was broadcast live by BBC Radio Cymru and will be repeated again on Sunday, 4 July.