Wigmore Hall Director & RPS Chairman John Gilhooly Awarded CBE

Artistic and executive director of Wigmore Hall and chairman of the Royal Philharmonic Society, John Gilhooly, has been awarded a CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in the Queen’s 2022 New Year Honours for his services to music.

Chairman of the Wigmore Hall Trust, Aubrey Adams OBE, said: ‘The honour is a testament to his great voluntary work outside his role at Wigmore Hall in helping many charities and organisations.’

Gilhooly was born in Limerick and became the youngest ever director of Wigmore Hall (or any of the world’s leading concert halls) in 2005, at age 32. Gilhooly was also awarded an OBE in 2013, also for services to music. This was formally presented by the Queen in October 2013.

Adrian O’Neill, Irish ambassador to the United Kingdom, said, ‘As artistic and executive director of the prestigious Wigmore Hall for the past 16 years, John Gilhooly has made an immense contribution to the celebration, promotion and development of classical music.’

At over 110 years old, Wigmore Hall is home to UK’s largest classical music concert programme, specialising in chamber and instrumental music, early music and song. The Hall is located in central London and presents over 460 concerts each year, with attendance growing across its entire programme by over 60 per cent since Gilhooly’s appointment in 2005.

You can find out more about Wigmore Hall here.

You can find more information about the Queen's New Year Honours and see the full list of honourees here.