RPS Awards 2021: The Winners

Florence Lockheart
Wednesday, November 3, 2021

This year’s Royal Philharmonic Society Awards were a triumphant recognition of the musicians and organisations who have worked tirelessly throughout the pandemic.

Violinist Nicola Benedetti receives the 2021 RPS Instrumentalist Award at Wigmore Hall (c) Mark Allan
Violinist Nicola Benedetti receives the 2021 RPS Instrumentalist Award at Wigmore Hall (c) Mark Allan

This year’s Royal Philharmonic Society (RPS) Awards took place this week with recognition of the musicians both amateur and professional who have inspired the nation through the pandemic.

Hosted by BBC Radio 3 presenter Katie Derham and RPS chief executive James Murphy, with trophies presented by RPS chairman John Gilhooly, the awards were a much-needed night of musical success following the darkness of the pandemic.

The awards were given as follows:

  • Ensemble Award - Scotland’s Dunedin Consort
  • Chamber-Scale Composition Award - Laura Bowler for her composition Wicked Problems
  • Storytelling Award - Kadiatu Kanneh-Mason for her book ‘House of Music’
  • Singer Award – Liverpudlian mezzo soprano Jennifer Johnston
  • Series and Events Award - The Chorus of Royal Northern Sinfonia’s The World How Wide, Vaughan Williams’ version of Tallis’ Fantasia
  • Conductor Award - Ryan Bancroft, Principal Conductor of the BBC National Orchestra of Wales
  • Large-Scale Composition Award - Dani Howard for her Trombone Concerto written for Peter Moore the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra
  • Opera & Music Theatre Award – Vopera for its digital production of Ravel’s L’enfant et les sortilèges
  • Young Artist Award - Hermes Experiment
  • Impact Award – English National Opera’s ENO Breathe programme
  • Gamechanger Award - Bold Tendencies, the Peckham multi-storey car park reclaimed as an exciting arts destination
  • Instrumentalist Award – Violinist Nicola Benedetti
  • Inspiration Award (for which the RPS received 4,667 public votes) - Hilary Campbell and Bristol Choral Society, made up of amateur singers.

You can find our full feature coverage of the awards evening here.