ABO announces 2025 award winners

The Association of British Orchestras (ABO) has announced the winners of its 2025 awards. Recipients of five awards, recognising those whose work has demonstrated the association’s core values of inspiration, innovation and collaboration in the areas of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, Learning and Development, Green Orchestras, Health and Wellbeing, and Innovation and Digital, were announced last night.

The awards ceremony, held at Newcastle’s Wylam Brewery on the first night of this year’s ABO Conference, saw Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Society chief executive Michael Eakin OBE win the 2025 ABO Award. Nominated by the ABO’s membership across the UK, this award is presented annually to the individual who has made ‘the most important contribution to the orchestral life of the UK’. 

ABO chair Sophie Lewis said: ‘Few people have impacted our sector more than Michael. As he retires later this year, Michael leaves behind a profound legacy of artistic excellence and community impact, which has cemented the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic's place as a cornerstone of Liverpool's cultural landscape and a significant contributor to the UK's orchestral and cultural life. Michael’s calm, pragmatic and inclusive qualities imbue everything he does and everyone who works with him. A wise counsel for so many but also a powerful voice for our sector on key issues and at key times. And it is this that we celebrate through this award.’

The awards were hosted by Classic FM presenter Ritula Shah, with the ABO Award presented by Sophie Lewis on behalf of the ABO Board and ABO Annual Awards presented by sponsors Help Musicians, Classical Music Magazine and the Royal Philharmonic Society. The event also honoured composer and percussionist Jackie Walduck for her work in innovation, inclusivity and learning as lead workshop facilitator/principal workshop leader with the Academy of St Martin in the Fields where she established the organisation’s work with homelessness centres.

The ABO also recognised the work of Max Thomas, Clara Marshall Cawley and Ruth Ellul from Manchester Camerata for the creation of the Camerata 360° Ruth Sutton Fellowship, which aims to equip musicians based in the North with future musicians with the skills, knowledge, and confidence to launch their careers as well as to keep the talent pipeline flowing.

Composer and curator Kate Whitley won for her work as founder and artistic director of Multi-Story Orchestra, an organisation which stages major performances in multi-story car parks, while Clarence Adoo MBE won for his work as a founding member of both Royal Northern Sinfonia Moves and Paraorchestra and his development of adaptive technology with the Headspace instrument.

The 2025 ABO conference and awards also saw the launch of the association’s new #AnOrchestraInEverySchool a national call to ensure access to high-quality music education and creative subjects for all children and young people, investing in music education and skills development which forms part of ABO’s larger #MusicThatMovesYou public campaign.