RPS reveals winners of 2024 awards

The Royal Philharmonic Society (RPS) Awards took place yesterday evening at Manchester’s Royal Northern College of Music. Marking the first time that the Awards have been presented out of London, the event, hosted by BBC Radio 3 presenters Elizabeth Alker and Linton Stephens, showcased Manchester-based talent as well as revealing the winners of the RPS’s 13 awards.

Jasdeep Singh Degun became the first sitar player to win an RPS Award, winning in the Instrumentalist category. The 2024 Gamechanger Award was also a highlight, received by Irene Taylor Trust and artistic director Sara Lee for its work using music to empower people affected by the criminal justice system, while composers Illia Razumeiko and Roman Grigoriv travelled to Manchester from Ukraine to receive the Opera and Music Theatre Award for their opera Chornobyldorf, created in collaboration with Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival.

The trophies were presented by RPS chairman John Gilhooly who said: ‘Too often this year, the story of classical music has been one of funding cuts and shrinking provision. Tonight we present a true picture of classical music’s quality, impact and radiance across the UK. This year’s RPS Awards winners are representative of music-makers nationwide, who – in challenging times – keep giving the very best of themselves for the benefit of others. We are proud to shine a light on their achievements, and hope it leads to greater recognition and pride for all that they collectively do.’

The prizes were awarded as follows:

• Chamber-scale composition – Laurence Osborn for her work TOMB! Performed by GBSR Duo and 12 Ensemble
• Conductor – Les Siècles founder François-Xavier Roth
• Ensemble – BBC Singers
• Impact – Clare Johnston and Drake Music Scotland for their collaboration Call of the Mountains, a creative exchange with Kazakhstan’s Eegeru ensemble
• Inspiration – Derwent Brass, which recently celebrated its 30th anniversary
• Instrumentalist – sitarist Jasdeep Singh Degun
• Large-scale composition – Awarded posthumously to Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho for her final opera Innocence which explores the aftermath of a school shooting in Helsinki
• Opera and music theatre – Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival for its opera Chornobyldorf co-composed and directed by Ukraine’s Illia Razumeiko and Roman Grygoriv before the Russian invasion. The festival was commended for bringing the whole Ukrainian cast and company of Opera Aperta to the UK during the conflict.
• Series and events – Manchester Classical; a weekend event which took place in June 2023
• Singer – Tenor Nicky Spence
• Storytelling – Leah Broad’s first book Quartet which focuses on the stories of underappreciated composers Doreen Carwithen, Dorothy Howell, Ethel Smyth and Rebecca Clarke
• Young Artist – mezzo soprano Lotte Betts-Dean

In partnership with BBC Radio 3, event awards will be broadcast in a special RPS Awards programme at 7:30pm on 6 March. A film of the RPS Awards presentation will be available to watch on the RPS website from 12 March.