THE deadline is fast approaching to respond to Aled Jones's search for a choir to support him at his Grand Opera House concert in York on May 11. Monday, 12 noon, will be the closing date and time.

The Welsh singer, television presenter and radio broadcaster, who rose to fame as a boy chorister singing Walking In The Air, is hoping to discover new talent from across Britain on his spring tour. At each performance, he will invite his favourite choir to take part in a once-in-a-lifetime chance to perform with him.

"I'm really excited about hitting the road again and singing in these fabulous venues," he says of a tour that will take Jones to Glasgow's Paisley Abbey, Wrexham's William Aston Hall, Lichfield Cathedral and the Union Chapel, Islington, London, as well as York.

"I’m a firm believer that we have the greatest choral tradition here in the UK and I’m really excited to be sharing the stage and singing with some of our greatest choirs. I hope as many groups as possible send in their videos,’’ he adds.

Choirs that wish to enter should send a short video of their choir to aledchoir@carouselpr.com, along with a brief description outlining why they should be the chosen choir. Choirs must state where they are based and highlight the venue for which they are applying, and videos must be sent in as a downloadable link or as a link to YouTube.

"It's dead simple! All I really want to see in the videos is that you can tell that the choirs love what they're doing and they have a passion for music," says Aled. "It can be a dodgy video or a perfectionist video as all I want is commitment. It can be a school choir, an older choir or why not a mixture of the two?

"Each chosen choir will start the show; I'll then do songs from my album of last year, singing with a projection of my younger self singing Walking In The Air at one point, and we'll then sing together, me and the choir.

"In the second half, I'll have guitarist Pete Harris playing with me, giving me the chance to sing songs I've not done usually, up very close and personal!"

Choirs sending videos should ensure full contact details are provided: name, email, phone number and any further supporting links. Choirs wishing to apply for May 11 must be based within a 20-mile radius of York. The maximum application word count is capped at 400 words. Entries must be sent by an adult aged 18 or over. One choir for each venue will be selected. Just to remind you again, the closing date for entries is Monday, March 27 at 12 noon and the winner for each venue will be announced next Friday.

Tickets for Aled Jones Live on May 11 at 7pm are on sale at atgtickets.com/york or on 0844 871 3024.