Susanna Eastburn receives RPS Leslie Boosey Award

The Royal Philharmonic Society (RPS) has announced that Susanna Eastburn MBE, chief executive of Sound and Music has been awarded the society’s Leslie Boosey Award. The biennial award is presented in recognition of programmers, publishers, broadcasters, administrators, educationalists and figures from the recording industry who work ‘backstage’ to champion new music.

Having joined Sound and Music in September 2012, the award marks Eastburn’s tenth year leading the organisation. Under her leadership, the organisation has supported a wide range of music creators and composers across the UK over the last decade.

RPS chief executive James Murphy said: ‘Ask anyone in the profession and they will tell you what a constant, committed force for good Susanna is. She cares deeply about building better pathways and opportunities for music creators. We need activists, advocates and evangelists for new music like Susanna more than ever before.’

The award is given in memory of music publisher Leslie Boosey whose family firm was merged with publishing company Hawkes & Son to establish Boosey & Hawkes. Boosey worked to achieve better rights and royalties for composers internationally. The award’s most recent recipient was Fiona Robertson, director of Aberdeenshire’s sound festival. A full list of past recipients can be found here.

Sound and Music is a national organisation for new music working across three areas: artist development, audience engagement and education. The charity supports the work of a range of composers, helps audiences to discover new music and works to encourage the next generation of musical talent.

Eastburn’s previous roles have included director of music at Arts Council England and artistic director and chief executive of the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival. She is chair of Orchestras for All, and in 2018 was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for Services to Music.

Eastburn said: ‘From the very start of my career I have believed passionately in the vital role that new music, and the people who create it, have in society… Having wonderful like-minded colleagues at the RPS and elsewhere makes this so much more achievable, so I’d like to thank the RPS deeply for this honour, and above all I’d like to thank the many composers I’ve had the good fortune to work with, who are such an inspiration.’

You can find out more about the Royal Philharmonic Society here.

You can find out more about Sound and Music here.