Audiences at tonight's Faenol Opera Gala will be able to see highlights of both Glanaethwy and Only Men Aloud's performances on big screens and will have the chance to vote from their mobile phones before the orchestra of Welsh National Opera under the baton of Gareth Jones strike up the overture.

Speaking from the Faenol Festival field before Ysgol Glanaethwy won a place in next Saturday's final, Bryn Terfel said: "I am personally very proud of both our choirs that have done so well to get down to the last four in the Last Choir standing competition – it's a testament to our strong Welsh choral tradition and the dedication of the choir members and their conductors and coaches.

"We should all be supporting them and voting for them."

And the choir of Bangor youngsters have put themselves in gold medal position after winning through the final of a prime time BBC series and earning the honour of performing at the handover of the Olympic torch.

Ysgol Glanaethwy performing arts school choir boasts 50 members, and the group has rocketed to the final three of Last Choir Standing.

But it was their most nail biting night on the show yet as they failed to get enough votes to guarantee their place in the final.

They had to sing again for the judges. The performance from the Glanaethwy youngsters took the judges' breath away and guaranteed their place in next week's final.

On the way to last night's semis they have earned rave reviews performing a range of songs, including Carl Orff's 'O Fortuna (Carmen Burana) and Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen,.

Before the final, the choir members spoke to The Chronicle.

Katrin Eleri Williams, 15, said: "It's exciting and fun to be involved, and although we would really like to win, it doesn't really matter because we have done our best and have done well to get here."

Miriam Elin, 15, added: "This has been great for the choir as we've appeared in front of a lot of people, and we're going to work hard to get into the final."

Led by energetic musical directors and school founders Cefin and Rhian Roberts, the Welsh language choir are gearing themselves up for Saturday's show with daily four-hour rehearsal sessions.

The choir has previously performed around Europe, but Bethan Parry, 18, explained that Saturday's performance was one of their most important; she said: "We have been abroad in the past to countries such as Italy and Hungary, but this has been the biggest event we've experienced.

"I'm very excited about the performance, but when I get there, I'll be really nervous!"

Dylan Parry, 19, added: "It's been an outstanding experience, being on live television has been amazing."

Pictures by: KERRY ROBERTS