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It is a cold, sharp morning in Cardiff Bay and I am contemplating how many layers I can wear to work without looking like a yeti. It was quite difficult to leave the warmth of the duvet this morning, but I'm finally getting ready to head for the studio, and it is with great excitement that I can report that there are only four concerts and two days of recording to go until Christmas!

Due to a cancelled rehearsal last week I have already managed to finish my Christmas shopping, so this week I have little to do except get in to the Christmas spirit. This week, I plan on eating mince pies. A lot of them.

Today we will be rehearsing for our Wednesday afternoon broadcast live on Radio 3 with conductor Grant Llewellyn. Our soloist for this concert, performing Mozart's Piano Concerto in D Minor, will be Lara Melda.

We first worked with Lara in May 2010, when she was very deservingly crowned ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Young Musician of the Year. In the final, Lara performed Saint-Saëns' Piano Concerto No 2 and many of us were blown away, not just by her technical prowess, but also by the maturity of her performance.

Sometimes in young musician competitions, you come across many young wunderkinds whose technical facility is genuinely jaw dropping, but not yet matched by a mature musicality. However, when at the piano, Lara seems many years older than what she is, while at the same time coming across as an exceptionally sweet teenage girl away from the piano.

A few of my friends who work in other ensembles have performed with her over the last year, and have only had good things to say about her, both as a musician and as a person. It will be lovely to hear her play on Wednesday - she is most definitely a talent to watch.

Also on the programme will be excerpts from Tchaikovsky's perennial ballet score, Swan Lake. Now, while I am slightly uncertain as to the festive connection with this music (if I remember correctly, do the ill-fated lovers not both lose their lives at the end?), it is very lovely music and it is always nice to play a good tune. Tchaikovsky was rather good at tune writing.

Aside from that, we are preparing for Christmas concerts in St David's Hall, Brangwyn Hall and Haverfordwest. These are lighter programs, full of great sing-a-long pieces like Howard Blake's Walking In The Air. I missed playing in these concerts last year as I was on jury service, but am looking forward to really getting into the festive spirit this year, possibly with my viola bedecked in tinsel and fairy lights!

For more information about the Orchestra's Christmas concerts, visit bbc.co.uk/now, or call 0800 052 1812.