A BBC Young Musician of the Year Finalist is to perform a lunchtime recital at Ty Pawb in Wrexham

Elias Ackerley, 17, of Coedpoeth, was a category finalist in the 2018 BBC Young Musician of the Year, narrowly losing out to the eventual winner of the competition, Lauren Zheng.

His performance of music by Scarlatti, Ravel and Liszt was very highly rated by the judging panel.

Elias will perform a free to attend concert in Ty Pawb, the new Wrexham arts, markets and culture hub on Thursday July 12, in Gallery Two starting at 1pm.

His programme for the Showcase concert includes music by JS Bach – Goldberg Variations and Rachmaninov’s 2nd Sonata for Piano.

The Bach is a lively set of short variations; the Rachmaninov, on the other hand is a powerful and passionate work - full of emotion and expression.

Showcase is a series of one hour lunchtime concerts in Ty Pawb which are designed to highlight local musical talent to the people of Wrexham and the local area.

Elias began his piano studies at the age of five in South Korea. After making rapid progress he was taken on by Russian concert pianist, Oleg Shitin, under whose guidance, Elias knew success in a number of competitions, including winning the junior prize at the Gumi National piano competition in 2012.

In May 2013, at the age of 11, Elias gave his debut recital in Chester and has performed regularly in concerts since in the UK, including as a soloist with a number of orchestras.

Elias is a currently student at Chetham’s School of Music in Manchester where he is a pupil of Dr Murray McLachlan, head of Keyboard, and under whose tutelage Elias succeed in becoming the youngest ever winner of the Chetham’s Beethoven competition – winning in both 2015 and 2016.

Elias also took the first prize at the Scottish International Youth Piano Competition, Epta UK and the Blue Ribbon at the National Eisteddfod. He has received masterclasses from Sir Andras Schiff, Stephen Hough and Steinway artist Simon Callaghan.

For more information about the music at TyPawb showcase please contact Derek Jones on 078809379591 or by email jones_derek@btconnect.com