Sheku Kanneh-Mason in his teenage years

RPS Duet Prizes

From 2016 to 2018, the RPS partnered with Duet Group to present prizes for outstanding young instrumentalists and composers of secondary school age.

Supported by the Duet Group Charitable Foundation, the prizes aimed to encourage and recognise musical excellence in formative years.

The 2016 RPS Duet Prizes were awarded to 16-year-old cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason (who went on to win the BBC Young Musician of the Year 2016) and 18-year-old composer Freya Ireland.

The 2018 RPS Duet Prizes were awarded to flute player Marie Sato, pianist Noah Zhou and composer Adam Possener. Supported by the RPS, Adam proceeded to write a new chamber work for the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic’s 10:10 Ensemble. 

These prizes followed on from ‘Ensemble Philharmonic’, an initiative coordinated by the Duet Group and the RPS, designed to build links between exceptional young musicians and secondary music departments with the music profession, through concerts, talks, masterclasses and creative collaborations.