The Young Talents Project 2016, a competition organized by Mediacorp Singapore’s only classical music station Symphony 924, is back for its fifth edition.

This year, for the first time, participants will be competing in two age groups – the Junior category will see participants aged 7 to 12 years old, and the Senior category for participants aged 13 to 17 years old.

More than a hundred hopeful participants entered the competition, and after two rigorous rounds of evaluation, 10 finalists have emerged.

The finalists, aged between 9 and 16 years old, consist of four pianists, three violinists, one cellist, one Indian classical vocalist, and a dizi player.

They will vie for top honours in four award categories with cash prizes worth a total of $12,000.

Award Categories include Best Stage Presence Award, Viewers’ Choice Award, Junior Category Grand Winner and Senior Category Grand Winner.

 The ‘Best Stage Presence Award’ and ‘Viewers’ Choice Award’ recipients will each receive $1,000 cash prize.

The grand winners of the Junior and Senior categories will each walk away with a $5,000 cash prize.

Their performances will be judged by five industry experts –Jason Lai, Anna Koor, Moses Gay, Low Shao Ying, and Dr Leonard Tan.

Assistant Programme Director of Symphony 924, Joanne Chan, says: “The diversity in this competition reflects the complexity and wide variety of genres available in classical music. We are thrilled to welcome an Indian classical vocalist and dizi player for the first time to the Young Talents Project Grand Finals. This initiative is also a clear reflection of the core beliefs of the station – to share the timeless world of classical music with like-minded people, young and old.”

The Grand Finals will take place on this Saturday.