The 18-year-old guitarist, who now lives in Norway, is one of just five finalists who will compete for the title in an extended celebration to mark the 30th anniversary of the event.

He will play his chosen concerto with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales in front of a live audience at the Wales Millennium Centre on Saturday – and then reprise his performance on Sunday along with a personal favourite.

The Sunday show will be broadcast on BBC2, interspersed with documentary footage of the musicians' journey to the grand final.

Jadran said he was very surprised to reach the final: "I was reasonably satisfied with how I played but I never really expected to get to the grand final. I just wanted to see how far I could get – although obviously I hope that I can go all the way."

He is no stranger to top-level competition, having twice won the Norwegian National Youth Competition. In addition to the guitar class, he played a duet with his 17-year-old brother Emil – a keyboards player who reached the semi-final of BBC contest.

Jadran lived in Sheffield until moving first to Stockport and later to Norway. He plans to return to England in the autumn to take up a place at the Royal College of Music in London.

Music is his life: he practises around four hours a day and says his favourite composer is JS Bach – although he likes the Beatles and the Eagles, too. His other interests include tennis, sailing and football.

Whatever the outcome of this weekend's competition, Jadran hopes eventually to make music his career: "In the long term I hope to be lucky enough to live off playing the guitar – hopefully a mixture of concerts and teaching."