The Royal Philharmonic Society (RPS) Awards took place on Thursday 6 March at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. Hosted by BBC Radio 3 presenters Jess Gillam and Tom McKinney, the event featured RPS Chair Angela Dixon presenting trophies to winners across 13 categories, recognising outstanding contributions to the music industry.

Performances were seen from double bassist Leon Bosch, winner of the Storytelling Award for BBC Radio 3’s Classical Africa, and cellist Laura van der Heijden, who received the instrumentalist award. 

Kazuki Yamada, music director of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO), received the 2025 Conductor Award. Described by the RPS as a 'local hero,' Yamada dedicated the award to his community and announced plans to display it at the orchestra’s Shireland CBSO Academy to inspire future conductors.

Reflecting on the honour, Yamada shared his excitement: 'This is such a special moment for me. My predecessor at the CBSO, Sir Simon Rattle, was the first to receive this award in 1990, and every CBSO Music Director since has been recognised as well. The CBSO is like a big family, and I’m grateful to be part of it. In recent years, we’ve been redefining what an orchestra can be and ensuring it remains an integral part of Birmingham’s artistic life. I can’t thank everyone enough for their support, and I am truly humbled.'

This year’s awards highlighted the achievements of disabled musicians and community music making. The Ensemble Award went to the innovative Paraorchestra, while the Open Arts Community Choir from Belfast, along with its dedicated music director Beverley McGeown, won the Inspiration Award for non-professional ensembles.

Composer Sarah Lianne Lewis received the Chamber-Scale Composition Award for letting the light in, a solo piano piece. The piece is featured on the first commercial album showcasing UK disabled composers, produced by NMC Recordings – this year’s winner of the Gamechanger Award. Sir James MacMillan's festival The Cumnock Tryst received the Series And Events award, whilst homelessness initiative Streetwise Opera received the Impact award.

The full list of 2025 winners is included below:

• Chamber-scale composition – Sarah Lianne Lewis for her solo piano work letting the light in
• Conductor – CBSO music director Kazuki Yamada
• Ensemble – Paraorchestra for its work putting disabled musicians centre-stage and pioneering how orchestras and audiences interact
• Gamechanger – NMC Recordings for its work giving ‘vital voice and visibility to composers’
• Impact – Streetwise Opera’s Re:Discover Festival bringing together people from homelessness centres across Nottingham, Manchester and London to devised their own operas
• Inspiration – Belfast’s Open Arts Community Choir and music director tireless Beverley McGeown for ‘uniting disabled and non-disabled people from different backgrounds through the power of song’
• Instrumentalist – cellist Laura van der Heijden
• Large-scale composition – Katherine Balch for whisper concerto for Cellist Zlatomir Fung and the BBC Philharmonic
• Opera And Music Theatre – Welsh National Opera for Death in Venice – ‘Audiences cheered the bravery, resilience and artistry of WNO’
• Series And Events –James MacMillan’s Ayrshire festival, the Cumnock Tryst
• Singer – soprano Claire Booth –
• Storytelling – BBC Radio 3’s Classical Africa series for ‘opening our ears to a complex and captivating tapestry of sounds and ideas’.
• Young Artist – GBSR Duo, comprising percussionist George Barton and pianist Siwan Rhys

RPS Awards partner BBC Radio 3 will broadcast a special RPS Awards programme at 7.30pm this evening, and a film of the RPS Awards presentation will be available to watch for free on the RPS website for one month from 17 March.

royalphilharmonicsociety.org.uk