Introduction
Described by The Sunday Times as ‘the biggest night in UK classical music’, the Royal Philharmonic Society Awards are classical music’s annual good news story, shining much-needed light on inspirational individuals, groups and initiatives whose music has lifted hearts and minds across the nation.
Since 2021, we have presented the RPS Awards in a refreshed and open format, with a vastly-reduced ticket price giving more music lovers and music makers than ever before the opportunity to get together and feel part of the festivities. Given the national story they tell, our most recent RPS Awards took place in Manchester (March 2024) and Birmingham (March 2025) and we are set to return to the Queen Elizabeth Hall at the Southbank Centre in London on Thursday 12 March 2026. Tickets, from just £10, will be available in October, with priority booking for RPS Members. We will share more details as plans advance and when booking opens here on our website and on our social media.
Annually, we welcome nominations for the RPS Awards from anyone who is an RPS Member (which is open to anyone who loves classical music: find out how you can join us here) and from those who work in the classical music profession. Nominations open on Thursday 24 July here on our website and remain open until 10am on Wednesday 24 September. To find out how to nominate, or to submit nominations if you’re eligible to do so, please visit the Nominate page of our Awards website.
Nominations are welcomed for 11 of 13 categories: Chamber-Scale Composition, Large-Scale Composition, Conductor, Ensemble, Impact, Instrumentalist, Opera and Music Theatre, Series and Events, Singer, Storytelling, Young Artist. To find out more about each category and the criteria, please visit the Categories page of our Awards website.
Following nominations, a shortlist of exceptional entrants and eventual winners is decided by expert panels, newly drawn each year from across the music profession. There are two further awards: Gamechanger chosen by the Board and Council of the RPS, and Inspiration celebrating the nation’s non-professional music-makers. For this latter award, an expert panel defines a shortlist then we open it for public vote here on our website in December.
Shortlists in the nominated categories will then be announced in January, in association with our longstanding Awards partner BBC Radio 3.
The RPS Awards is a night of celebration with special guests, inspirational stories, and live music, giving you the chance to meet unsung heroes of classical music from across the UK and to rub shoulders with the stars. Winners receive a trophy in the form of a silver lyre, designed by former RPS Council member Laurie Watt. Central to the story of Orpheus, the lyre is one of the earliest symbols of music's power to see us through difficult times: something we can all agree it has done in recent times. For a taste of our most recent RPS Awards event, click here.
All RPS Awards updates will be shared here on our website and on our social media.
If you have any queries about the RPS Awards, please do contact us.
A registered charity, the Royal Philharmonic Society has been at the heart of music for over 200 years, championing the vital role that music plays in all our lives. To find out more about everything we do, please visit our main website.
