The eight finalists in Albanian Young Musicians, the country’s selection process for Eurovision Young Musicians 2018 have been revealed by RTSH.
Originally it was announced that just six performers would make it through to the final, however a total of eight young musicians will now take part in the final on June 11. The finalists who were selected from the semi-final stage are:
- Dejon Bendaj
- Filippo Jakova
- Grigor Ylli
- Klaudio Zoto
- Laura Llozi
- Laura Sulaj
- Rejsi Prosi
- Tedi Tola
The musicians who missed out on a place in the final were:
- Aleks Shameti
- Eni Maqellari
- Erald Shamku
- Iva Zurbo
- Jonathan Verkuj
- Noel Shutina
In the final a professional jury will select the Albanian participant. Albania will hold their national final in the Grand Park in Tirana, with the public invited to watch the show live in the open air on June 11. The show starts at 20:00 local time.
Albania will make their Eurovision Young Musicians debut in this year’s contest. Seven countries will make their return to the contest. These are Belgium (last participated in 2006), Estonia (2004), Greece (2014), Israel (1986), Russia (2010), Spain (2002) and the host nation, the United Kingdom (2010). Austria, who is the most successful country in the contest with five wins, will not take part for the first time since 1982.
The 2018 edition of Eurovision Young Musicians sees the return of a semi-final elimination round, which will take the form of public chamber recitals (St. Cecilia’s Hall) by all contestants on 18-19 August, with all recitals produced by BBC Radio 3 for distribution to the Euroradio network (as well as via web stream). The final concert will take place in the Usher Hall on 23 August 2018, with the musicians accompanied by the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra under their principal conductor Thomas Dausgaard.
Source: RTSH
