RPS
ROYAL PHILHARMONIC SOCIETY
ROYAL PHILHARMONIC SOCIETY AWARDS 2025
ROYAL PHILHARMONIC SOCIETY AWARDS 2025
7.15pm Thursday 6 March 2025
Bradshaw Hall, Royal Birmingham Conservatoire
Hosted by BBC Radio 3 presenters Jess Gillam and Tom McKinney Awards presented by RPS Chair Angela Dixon
Welcome to Birmingham! The story and the spirit of this great city are forever interwoven with music-making. From its bold 18th century concerts and festivals, to the foundation of what we now call Royal Birmingham Conservatoire in 1886 and the CBSO in 1920, Birmingham truly resounds. Its citizens cherish music at the very centre of their lives. We in turn have cherished the welcome they have shown us, as we present the RPS Awards here for the first time.
This strong civic appetite and appreciation for classical music is what we are here to celebrate tonight. We are set to reveal the recipients of 13 awards. They and their fellow shortlistees represent thousands of dedicated music-makers across the UK, all of whom deserve recognition for their endeavours to fortify the nation. Tonight we present compelling evidence of all the good that classical music can do. Let’s ensure our message is heard, far and wide: we heartily encourage you to join our chorus and share tonight’s stories on social media.
We are dearly grateful to this year’s Principal Supporters – BBC Radio 3, ABRSM, Dorico from Steinberg, PRS for Music, and BBC Music Magazine – and the supporters of each award, as well as our cherished RPS Members, this year’s 60 panellists, our hosts at Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, and all those who have helped make the RPS Awards possible.
The show is being filmed, and will be freely streamed on the RPS website from Monday 17 March. BBC Radio 3 will present a celebratory broadcast on air at 7.30pm tomorrow, 7 March, with more music from our shortlisted artists. We hope you have a memorable night, and it propels you home with fresh fuel and conviction that classical music absolutely matters.
@RoyalPhilSoc #RPSAwards
Principal Supporters
Royal Philharmonic Society
48 Great Marlborough Street
London W1F 7BB
Tel 020 7287 0019
admin@philharmonicsociety.uk
royalphilharmonicsociety.org.uk
UK Registered Charity 213693
Pictured: the great Graham Vick, recipient of RPS Honorary Membership and multiple RPS Awards for the inspirational achievements of Birmingham Opera Company; Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla who received the RPS Conductor Award in 2019 when she was CBSO Music Director; composer Kate Whitley’s Luna, one of several new commissions at Birmingham Royal Ballet brought to life with support from the RPS Drummond Lockyer Fund for Dance.
The RPS Awards are just one facet of what our charity does to support musicians nationwide.
Tonight is sure to feature musicians and musical initiatives familiar to you. We hope you’ll make a host of discoveries too, and want to tell others about the forces for good whose achievements we are set to celebrate.
Year-round, the RPS helps many such musicians to overcome serious barriers to progress with grants, commissions, mentoring and performance opportunities that transform their prospects. We bring real creativity and joy to working with each of them, drawing in partners nationally, and engaging those who have found success to share their expertise with their successors.
There's no limit to what we can do here, if we only had the means. Our annual RPS Composers programme offers a commission, premiere and a year of professional development that's helped
artists like Dani Howard, Daniel Kidane and James B. Wilson find their way to the BBC Proms, but there are so many more composers we want to help.
Our RPS Women Conductors programme – led by the inspirational Alice Farnham, and enjoying an exciting new chapter with the Royal Northern Sinfonia – has given over 500 women greater skills and confidence on the podium, but we’re still some distance from equality.
Every year, our RPS Instrument Purchase Grants transform the prospects of young musicians whose talent has earned them a place at music college but don't own a sufficient instrument to excel.
As a charity, we rely on people like you who care about music to join us in helping such people to progress.
You don't have to be a philanthropist to do this. Did you know that you can become a Member of the Royal Philharmonic Society, just like the National Trust or Royal Horticultural Society?
A 2021 RPS Composer, Ayanna Witter-Johnson has since cast her creativity everywhere, writing for the LSO, presenting her own unique sound at Wigmore Hall and Kings Place, and collaborating with Anoushka Shankar and Peter Gabriel.
Since receiving support from the RPS Henderson Chamber Ensemble Award, the Fibonacci Quartet have captured audiences’ imagination across the UK and Europe, and earned a prestigious place on the roster of the Young Classical Artists Trust.
RPS Membership is an opportunity for you to:
• make a charitable gesture and show your support for the music and musicians you love
• fuel your passions, make fresh discoveries, and get closer to what’s happening in classical music today
• be a valued part of a connected community of musiclovers and music-makers united by a cause
We are so grateful to the RPS Members attending tonight. For those of you who aren't yet Members, instead of a fundraising appeal this evening, we simply ask you to join the RPS.
On every seat, you will find our Membership brochure (pictured right) which we ask you to take home and read, giving you a flavour of the great things we can achieve together. Please share it with others who care about classical music’s future who may like to help more musicians find their way, fulfil their calling, and brighten the world with their music.
Propelled from her experience with RPS Women Conductors, Tess Jackson conducted The National Youth Orchestra at the 2024 BBC Proms, and next month makes her debut with the Philharmonia.
Sameeta Gahir was one of many musicians the RPS helps buy the instrument they need to excel. From there, she proceeded to become Principal Piccolo of Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and a devoted educationalist, nurturing others to make music.
COLLABORATE WITH US
The founders of the RPS were a remarkable group of individuals who each cared for the prospects and profile of music-making in the UK. They knew the difference they could make by getting together and working as one. Their example shines through everything we do today. We draw such strength, solidarity and opportunity from collaborating with colleagues nationwide who in turn are proud of their association with the Royal Philharmonic Society. We thank our Corporate Members, Corporate Partners, and Programme Partners whose support enriches all our endeavours nurturing and empowering music and musicians.
Among our collaborative initiatives this year, we showcased our RPS Women Conductors initiative with Royal Northern Sinfonia to delegates at the Association of British Orchestras Conference. We launched a series of online seminars with Martin Randall Travel so their followers could engage with some of the leading musicians the RPS supports and promotes. We helped new organisations like London Singers’ Collective to build their strategy and contacts, and make their mark. We presented The RPS Conversation, a new event where RPS Members from all corners of music found catharsis and fresh resolve connecting with colleagues they may not otherwise have met, and are making plans to build on its success.
We invite you to consider how your organisation could benefit from becoming an RPS Corporate Member, or by building a bespoke partnership that allies your values with one of our charitable ventures.
The RPS Conversation: a unique occasion to make new connections and resolutions with a range of colleagues.
Casting a spotlight on the work of Premier Corporate Member Chandos Records in Philharmonic, the RPS magazine.
‘I highly recommend signing up and supporting the RPS, so this essential organisation can in turn continue to support the entire sector. Their one-to-one business support makes the subscription more than worth it. The advice and introductions they have worked hard to provide us this year have accelerated our progress and set in motion further plans for the company.’
Julian Debreuil
London Singers' Collective
Premier Corporate Members
Audition Oracle
Chandos Records
London Singers' Collective
Martin Randall Travel
Naxos Music UK
Saffron Hall
Advance Corporate Members
Association of British Orchestras
Black Lives in Music
I Can Compose
International Artist Managers' Association
ISM, the Independent Society of Musicians
Making Music
Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra
Corporate Members
Brighton Festival Chorus
British Council Music
City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
City of London Sinfonia
Colourstrings and The Szilvay Foundation
Composers Edition
Deal Music and Arts
Derwent Brass
Enticott Music Management
James Brown Management
Leith Hill Music Festival
Music Masters
Music Productions
Nicky Thomas Media
PRS for Music
Reigate and Redhill Choral Society
Royal Academy of Music
Scordatura
Corporate Partners
ABRSM
Schott Music
The Glasshouse International Centre for Music
PRS Foundation - Keychange
Sound and Music - Fair Access Principles
Presenting our RPS Women Conductors partnership with Royal Northern Sinfonia to the sector at the 2025 Association of British Orchestras Conference.
THE AWARDS: ACT ONE
PERFORMANCE
IMPACT
for an outstanding initiative, individual or organisation that practically engaged and set out to have a lasting impact on the lives of people who may not otherwise experience classical music, demonstrating the positive, empowering role it can play in society
Re:Discover Festival – Streetwise Opera
Singing Medicine – Ex Cathedra
World Heart Beat Music Academy
supported by Oxford University Press Music
Panel: Diandra McCalla – Creative Producer, Birmingham Opera Company; Lenny Sayers – Principal Bass Clarinet, BBC National Orchestra of Wales; Nathan Holder – Saxophonist / Writer; Pete Sparkes – Artistic Director, Drake Music Scotland; Rowan Rutter – Chief Executive, City of London Sinfonia
YOUNG ARTIST
for the outstanding quality and scope of the performances to a live or digital audience, and the work in any context of an individual artist or chamber ensemble, relatively new to the profession
Charlotte Corderoy – conductor
GBSR Duo
Leia Zhu – violin
supported by Sir Simon and Victoria, Lady Robey CBE
Panel: Gweneth Ann Rand – Soprano; Jon Carvell – General Manager, Wigmore Hall; Martin Cullingford – Editor, Gramophone; Nicholas McCarthy – Piano; Su-a Lee – Sub-Principal Cello, Scottish Chamber Orchestra
STORYTELLING
for an imaginative entity which, in a lateral medium, newly or distinctly furthered the understanding of classical music (most likely but not limited to written or spoken word, radio, television, film, digital, online)
Backstage with the London Philharmonic Orchestra
– Sky Arts
Cello: A Journey Through Silence to Sound
– Kate Kennedy
Classical Africa – BBC Radio 3
Martin Randall Festivals
Auveen Sands – Chief Executive, Ulster Orchestra; – Director of Programmes, Royal College of Music; Flora Willson / Lecturer in Music, King's College London; Jo Sweet – Head of University Music and Concerts, University of Birmingham; Keval Shah
CHAMBER-SCALE COMPOSITION
for an outstandingly imaginative and engaging chamber-scale work receiving its premiere UK performance to a live or digital audience
Cassandra Miller – Chanter
Sally Beamish – Trance
Sarah Lianne Lewis – letting the light in supported by Boosey & Hawkes in memory of Tony Fell
Panel: Dai Fujikura – Composer; Daniel Lewis – Relationship Manager, Classical, PRS for Music; Dobrinka Tabakova – Composer; Rhiannon Mathias – Writer / Honorary Research Fellow, Bangor University; Will Dutta – Chief Executive, Sound and Music
SERIES AND EVENTS
for a distinctive festival, themed series of performances, or truly unique performance event, presented in the UK
Aldeburgh Festival
The Cumnock Tryst
The Future is Green – Royal Northern College supported by Warner Classics
Panel: Claire Jackson – Writer; Fiona Sinclair – Chief Executive, Leeds International Piano Competition; Michael Eakin – Chief Executive, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra; Rosalind Ventris – Viola; Sooree Pillay – Regional Producer – Midlands, Orchestras Live
PERFORMANCE
SINGER
for the outstanding quality and scope of the performances to a live or digital audience, and the work in any context, of an individual singer
Claire Booth – soprano
David Butt Philip – tenor
Francesca Chiejina – soprano supported by Jenny Hodgson
Panel: Anna Tilbrook – Piano; James Clutton – Chief Executive and Director of Opera, Opera Holland Park; Polly Graham – Artistic Director, Longborough Festival Opera; Richard Willacy – General Director, Birmingham Opera Company; Rodney Earl Clarke – Baritone
INTERVAL
We are pleased to offer all attendees a complimentary glass of wine, beer, or a soft drink during the interval, supported by Decca Classics
PERFORMANCE
GAMECHANGER
for those who in unique and contemporary ways continue to break new ground in classical music, as the musicians who founded the RPS did in 1813. This is specially presented by the RPS Board and Council to an initiative, individual or organisation for their transformative work. Recipients include Sara Lee and The Irene Taylor Trust for their life-changing work using music to empower people affected by the criminal justice system and in marginalised areas of society, as well as organist and conductor Anna Lapwood, and the inspirational Chineke!
supported by I Can Compose
INSPIRATION
for a non-professional self-run ensemble or an individual who works with such groups, in recognition of the remarkable constellation of such music-makers nationwide. While the shortlist was chosen by a specialist panel, the winner for this Award has been decided by public vote.
Katrina Marzella-Wheeler
Open Arts Community Choir
The Pink Singers
Wolverhampton Symphony Orchestra
supported by Presto Music
Panel: Ankna Arockiam – Singer / Founder, Glasgow Sitare; Dorothy Wilson – Vice Chair, Making Music; Matthew Greenall – Executive Director, Walled City Music, Derry; Michael Betteridge – Composer / Artistic Director, The Sunday Boys; Tom Spurgin – Head of Learning and Engagement, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
LARGE-SCALE COMPOSITION
for an outstandingly imaginative and engaging large-scale work receiving its premiere UK performance to a live or digital audience
Ben Nobuto – Hallelujah Sim.
Hans Abrahamsen – Concerto for Horn and Orchestra
Katherine Balch – whisper concerto supported by The Boltini Trust
Panel: Alexis Paterson – Senior Music Programme Producer, University of Oxford; Marie Schreer Co-Artistic Director, Riot Ensemble / Section Leader, Second Violins, The Hallé; Richard Baker – Composer / Professor of Composition, Guildhall School of Music and Drama; Shirley J. Thompson – Composer / Professor of Composition and Performance, University of Westminster; Stephan Meier – Composer / Artistic Director, Birmingham Contemporary Music Group
PERFORMANCE
OPERA AND MUSIC THEATRE
for an outstanding production or initiative, presented to a live or digital audience, or for the overall accomplishments of a company or individual in opera and music theatre
Curlew River – Aldeburgh Festival
Death in Venice – Welsh National Opera
New Year – Birmingham Opera Company supported by Wise Music Group
Panel: Hattie Butterworth – Editor, Opera Now; Jonathan Lyness –Director, Mid Wales Opera; Richard Bratby – Chief Music Critic, The Spectator; Toria Banks – Artistic Director and Producer, We Are Hera
INSTRUMENTALIST
for the outstanding quality and scope of the performances to a live or digital audience, and the work in any context, of an individual performer on any instrument
Ben Goldscheider – horn
Isata Kanneh-Mason – piano
Laura van der Heijden – cello
ISM, the Independent Society of Musicians
Andrew Comben – Chief Executive, Britten Pears Arts; Garrigós Morant – Bass Clarinet, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra; – General Manager, Hebrides Ensemble / Director and Creative Consultant, Gratia Arts; Hannah Donat – Director of Artistic Planning, BBC Proms; James Thomas – Director, Royal Northern Sinfonia & Classical Programme, The Glasshouse International Centre for Music
CONDUCTOR
for the outstanding quality and scope of the performances to a live or digital audience, and the work in any context, of a conductor
Kazuki Yamada Newzik
Panel: Alistair Mackie – Chief Executive, Royal Scottish National Orchestra; Lisa Tregale – Director, BBC National Orchestra of Wales; Margaret Cookhorn – Principal Contrabassoon, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra; Philip Noyce – Managing Editor, Classic FM; Sarah Tenant-Flowers – Conductor
ENSEMBLE
for the outstanding quality and scope of the performances to a live or digital audience, and the work in any context of a group of musicians, no fewer than three
CBSO Chorus Paraorchestra
Scottish Chamber Orchestra supported by Outhere Music Group
Panel: Amarins Wierdsma – Violin, Barbican Quartet; Director, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra; Elise Brown Arts; Sarah Bardwell – Managing Director, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra; Stephen Maddock – Principal, Royal Birmingham Conservatoire
CREATED BY MEMBERS. DRIVEN BY MUSIC.
After the show, we invite you to stay and enjoy the festivities, and meet friends, colleagues and nominees.
Last orders at the bar will be 11.30pm.
Congratulations to the exceptional composers nominated for this year’s RPS Awards. Together with the esteemed publishers we represent, we're proud to champion new music and the vital role it plays in the classical music industry.
Board of Trustees
Angela Dixon – Chair
Jo Buckley
Leon Bosch
Rikesh Shah – Honorary Treasurer
Roderick Williams OBE
Sarah Gee – Honorary Secretary
Victoria, Lady Robey CBE
Advisory Council
Alexander Armstrong
Anthony Bolton
Edward Blakeman
Gillian Moore CBE
Dr Hannah French
Helena Gaunt
Janis Susskind OBE
Jess Gillam MBE
Dr Kadiatu Kanneh-Mason
Kenneth Olumuyiwa Tharp CBE
Dr Leanne Langley – Honorary Librarian
Louise Mitchell CBE
Sally Groves MBE
Sam Jackson
Sir Stephen Hough
Staff
James Murphy – Chief Executive
Harriet Wybor – General Manager
Cathy Hare – Programme Manager
Emily Porter – Administrator
Alison Pavier – Development Consultant
For the RPS Awards
Matt Belcher – Creative production, projections and design
Rebecca Driver Media Relations
Greg Milner – Photography
Kate Green – BSL Interpreter
Alice Wright, Camilla Carden, Charlotte Smith – helpers
with many thanks to all staff at Royal Birmingham Conservatoire
The Prince of Wales' Charitable Fund
PRS Foundation Talent Development
For BBC Radio 3
Jess Gillam and Tom McKinney – Presenters
Chris Wines – Producer
Emma Bloxham – Editor
George Chambers – Head of Communications, Classical Music
Jeremy Evans – Head of Content Commissioning
All information correct at time of printing
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