TWELVE-year-old Cai Thomas, a young chorister with strong family ties to Cardigan has completed a highly successful crowdfunding campaign to raise the funds to record his first solo album ‘Seren’ which will be released in spring 2020.

Over a short and focused five-week period, backers were drawn not only from the local and Welsh communities but from communities across the world including the US and Japan as more than £27,000 flooded in.

The album was recorded with award-winning producer Simon Kiln and will showcase Cai’s talent across a range of well-known treble classics and lesser known contemporary tracks from Mozart and Handel to Welsh folk songs and some emerging Nordic composers.

Cai and his family now live in Farnham – though they regularly return to the Cardigan area, with dad James known to many as vet Dick Thomas’s son - and has been singing since the age of seven at his local church.

Cai’s an accomplished soloist, holds the Bishop’s award for choral singing and regularly performs both locally and during choir tours in European cathedrals including St Mark’s Venice, St Paul’s, Brussels and Cologne.

Since his campaign target was achieved, he’s been very busy.

Not only has he finished recording his album, but he has competed as a finalist in the BBC Radio 2 chorister of the year competition, sung at Sir Karl Jenkins’ world premiere of his new work ‘Miserere’ and released his debut single Suo-Gân.

His single has been championed by Classic FM, who have said he’s ‘really causing quite a stir’ and have called him a ‘brilliant young talent’.

Cai’s very grateful for all the support he has been given. You can hear him sing live at an enchanting evening of song and dinner at the Grove of Narberth, a major sponsor, on Thursday, December 19. For bookings call 01834 860915.