RPS awards shortlist announced

The Royal Philharmonic Society (RPS) has today revealed the shortlist for its 2024 Awards. Set to take place in Manchester in March, the awards aim to highlight the musicians and initiatives which serve and inspire audiences and communities across the UK.

Held outside of London for the first time in its 35-year history, the awards will take place at the Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM) on 5 March. The event, which will feature performances from some of this year’s nominees, is hosted by BBC Radio 3 presenters Elizabeth Alker and Linton Stephens with trophies presented by RPS chairman John Gilhooly.

RPS chief executive James Murphy said: ‘Given the truly national story they represent, we’re so pleased to be taking the Royal Philharmonic Society Awards out of the capital for the very first time. We’ll be venturing elsewhere in years to come, and back to London of course, but this year Manchester is the ideal destination. With big wins last year for Manchester Collective and Manchester Camerata, and nominations this year for local heroes The Sunday Boys, Manchester Classical, and Olympias Music Foundation, classical music pulses through the city’s veins.’

The shortlisted nominees are as follows:

Chamber-Scale Composition – for an outstandingly imaginative and engaging chamber-scale work

• Ben Lunn – History needs…
• Laurence Osborn – TOMB!
• Nilufar Habibian – Az nahāyate tāriki (From the deep end of darkness)

Conductor – for the outstanding quality and scope of the performances of a conductor

• Alice Farnham
• Alpesh Chauhan
• François-Xavier Roth

Ensemble – for the outstanding quality and scope of the performances of a group of musicians (no fewer than three)

• BBC Singers
• Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective
• Riot Ensemble

Impact – for an ‘outstanding initiative, individual or organisation that practically engaged and set out to have a lasting impact on the lives of people who may not otherwise experience classical music’

• Call of the Mountains – Drake Music Scotland
• Re:Sound – Streetwise Opera
• Music in Secondary Schools Trust
• Olympias Music Foundation

Inspiration – for a non-professional ensemble or an individual who works with such groups

• Derwent Brass
• Glasgow Madrigirls
• Sheffield Philharmonic Chorus
• The Sunday Boys

Instrumentalist – for the outstanding quality and scope of the performances of an individual performer on any instrument

• Cellist Ayanna Witter-Johnson
• Sitarist Jasdeep Singh Degun
• Pianist Pavel Kolesnikov

Large-Scale Composition – for an outstandingly imaginative and engaging large-scale work

• Cassandra Miller – I cannot love without trembling
• Jasdeep Singh Degun – Orpheus
• Kaija Saariaho – Innocence
• Noriko Koide – Swaddling Silk and Gossamer Rain

Opera and Music Theatre – for an outstanding production or initiative or for the overall accomplishments of a company or individual in opera and music theatre

• Chornobyldorf – Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival
• Dialogues des Carmélites – Glyndebourne Opera
• Innocence – The Royal Opera

Series and Events – for a ‘distinctive festival, themed series of performances, or truly unique performance event, presented in the UK.’

• Aldeburgh Festival
• Manchester Classical
• Oratorio of Hope – London Borough of Croydon

Singer – for the outstanding quality and scope of the performances of an individual singer

• Alice Zawadzki – vocalist, songwriter
• Masabane Cecilia Rangwanasha – soprano
• Nicky Spence – tenor

Storytelling – for an ‘imaginative entity which, in a lateral medium, newly or distinctly furthered the understanding of classical music’

• Composer of the Week – BBC Radio 3
• Eastern Classical – BBC Radio 4
• Quartet – Leah Broad

Young Artist – for the outstanding quality and scope of the performances of an individual artist or chamber ensemble, relatively new to the profession

• Trumpet player Aaron Azunda Akugbo
• Mezzo soprano Lotte Betts-Dean
• Accordion player Ryan Corbett

RPS will also award the Gamechanger award, recognising those who ‘in unique and contemporary ways continue to break new ground in classical music’. This award is specially presented by the Board and Council of the RPS and so there is no shortlist.

The awards will be filmed to watch on the RPS website, and BBC Radio 3 will present a special broadcast featuring music of the winners and nominees on 6 March.