The award of Honorary Membership, given in recognition of the recipients services to music, has been made to Sir Brian McMaster: former director of the Edinburgh Festival and currently Chair of the International Opera Studio, the Young Concert Artist Trust and author of a recent Government report on Excellence in the Arts. The award was presented by John Gilhooly (RPS Hon Secretary) at the YCAT Gala, Wigmore Hall in 2010.

The citation of the RPS Council on making the Award was as follows:

"The Royal Philharmonic Society honours Sir Brian McMaster as a visionary programmer and advocate for the arts. He has run opera companies, including Welsh National Opera and Vancouver Opera; was Director of a vibrant agenda-setting Edinburgh Festival for 15 years; and the author of a major review of arts funding which refreshingly suggested that financial support for the arts should stimulate excellence, risk-taking and innovation.

In recent years he has focused his energies on the championing of young performers: as a judge for the Cardiff singer of the World, Chairman of the National Opera Studio and of the Young Concert Artists Trust. His trademark loyalty, borne of conviction and instinct, is applied not only in his steadfast support for artists, but also in relationships with colleagues and friends. His openness to new ideas, his defence of the highest standards and his passionate belief in an audience’s desire for great art serve as an example to all arts leaders and render his contribution to this country’s artistic life incalculable."