ONE of Britain’s most exciting young sopranos is returning to North Wales to head up a spectacular celebration with the region’s flagship NEW Sinfonia orchestra this weekend.

It features two back-to-back Viennese themed New Year concerts - at St Asaph Cathedral on January 5 and at St Giles' Church in Wrexham the day after.

The return of Welsh National Opera soloist Katy Thomson marks a double coup for NEW Sinfonia, which she described as musically ‘fearless’.

As well as securing Katy’s star billing, for the first time in 2018 NEW Sinfonia is staging two New Year concerts rather than one.

Also looking forward entertaining the audiences is harpist Bethan Griffiths, originally from Treuddyn, who is studying for a masters at the Royal College of Music after winning a two-year funding scholarship from the Ashley Family Foundation.

Orchestra artistic director, conductor and co-founder Robert Guy said: “We’re hugely excited. This is a tremendous step forward.

“It has become an annual tradition for us to put on a Viennese Gala concert at St Giles' Church, Wrexham, to really ring in each New Year, but it has soared in popularity to the extent that last January we struggled to fit everyone in.

“All 400 tickets sold out and people were still queuing at the doors.

“So, for the first time in 2018, we’re putting on two concerts, one in St Asaph Cathedral on the Friday night, to be followed the very next day with our usual St Giles celebration.

“Both concerts will feature the same programme so everyone will get a chance to enjoy the bumper musical party.”

The St Asaph concert will start at 7.30pm, with the Wrexham gala getting underway at 3pm.

Scottish born soloist Katy Thomson made her successful debut with NEW Sinfonia at September’s North Wales International Music Festival, where she was one of a quartet of soloists from Welsh National Opera performing the Welsh Premiere of Oliver Tarney’s Magnificat.

She is thrilled to be returning for the Viennese gala concerts and described the NEW Sinfonia musicians as ‘fearless’.

Tickets (£15 adults; £12 concessions; £3 Students and U-18s) for both Viennese Gala Concerts are available from Wrexham Tourist Information Centre and Cathedral Frames in St Asaph.

Or they can be bought online at newsinfonia.org.uk/en/event/viennese-gala-concert-wrexham/