The presentation was made by RPS Chairman, John Gilhooly, on Thursday 9 June at a Philharmonia Orchestra’s Music of Today concert which featured new works by RPS Composition Prize-winning composers Steven Daverson, Edward Nesbit and Mark Simpson.

Tony Fell was made an Honorary Member of the Royal Philharmonic Society in recognition of his outstanding services to music. He was the first music publisher to be honored in this way and only the 129th recipient since the first honorary membership was made to Carl Maria von Weber in 1826.

Tony Fell was Chairman of the Royal Philharmonic Society from 1997 to 2005, having previously enjoyed a distinguished role in music publishing, latterly as Managing Director of Boosey and Hawkes.

In its citation, the Council of the Royal Philharmonic Society says:

“We in classical music have been lucky that Tony Fell has chosen to direct his extraordinary enthusiasm and energy in our direction. At the helm of Boosey and Hawkes for over 25 years, he completely revived their strategy for new music for which he has an infectious passion and eager curiosity. He has always been a true and generous friend to composers and musicians of all ages, offering wise and pragmatic advice and, often as not, quietly rolling up his sleeves and sorting out solutions.
He was appointed Chairman of the Royal Philharmonic Society in 1997 and both galvanised and re-shaped the Society into an organisation that responds imaginatively to the challenges of the 21st century. In 2002, he led the sale of the RPS archive to the British Library, which opened this important collection to music scholars and the public, and generated the funds to secure the future of society and to develop new projects to support classical music today.”