72nd ROSL Annual Music Competition Awards Gold Medal

The top prize was awarded to Welsh tenor Dafydd Jones who combined arias and songs to impress the panel and gathered audience with a spectacular performance.

On Wednesday 19th June, the Royal Over-Seas League’s 72^nd Annual Music Competition came to a spectacular close, announcing Welsh tenor Dafydd Jones as the winner and recipient of the 2024 Gold Medal, he is also the first singer to take home the top prize in eleven years. Dafydd was joined onstage by duo partner and winner of the 2024 ROSL Collaborative Piano Award, Francesca Lauri.

The Gold Medal final was held at London’s Wigmore Hall where four soloists competed in the impressive final, Jordan Brooks violin, Ignas Maknickas piano, Daniel Shao flute and Dafydd Jones tenor. The adjudicators John Gilhooly CBE (chair), Geoff Parkin, Alexandra Dariescu, Angela Dixon, Chloë Hanslip, Gavin Henderson CBE, Linda Marks, Tom Randle, Melvyn Tan and Sue Thomas had the task of choosing the winner and the £15,000 award.

While the judges deliberated, the ROSL 2024 Ensemble Category winners, Trio Archai and Apollo’s Cabinet performed, following which the panel of adjudicators took to the stage to announce Dafydd Jones as the winner.

Artistic Director Geoff Parkin said of the results, “in a set of exceptional performances from all the musicians, Dafydd impressed the jury with his magnetic stage presence, stunning voice control and interpretation of his programme of music by Welsh and French composers, and we are proud to welcome him to the ROSL list of gold medal winners.”

Welsh tenor Dafydd Jones is an Aldama scholar studying with Nicky Spence and Caroline Dowdle at the Royal College of Music International Opera Studio. Dafydd is a Samling Artist and his highlights on the operatic stage include singing Clotarco in Haydn’s Armida at the Bregenzer Festspiele last year, his debut in the title role of Albert Herring for Opera North and is currently covering the role of Tamino in Die Zauberflöte for Glyndebourne Opera Festival this season.