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J Mervyn Williams, who founded the Cardiff Singer of the World competition n 1983, has died aged 74.

'Merv', as he was universally known, was ´óÏó´«Ã½ Wales' Head of Music in the first half of the 1980s, he was responsible for a huge amount of music broadcasting from Wales, during which the ´óÏó´«Ã½ Welsh Symphony Orchestra (now the ´óÏó´«Ã½ National Orchestra of Wales) became the most-televised orchestra in Britain.

But perhaps Merv's greatest achievement at the ´óÏó´«Ã½ was the establishment of Cardiff Singer of the World. Read Merv's recollections of the struggle he had to get Cardiff Singer off the ground in 1983, and our full tribute on the competition website.