Nominations for the 2026 RPS Awards closed at 10am on Wednesday 24 September 2025, and we regret we cannot accept late nominations.

Described by The Sunday Times as ‘the biggest night in UK classical music’, the RPS Awards are classical music’s annual good news story, making the case for inspirational individuals, groups and initiatives whose music-making lifts hearts and minds across the nation.

Each Summer, 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 colleagues who work in the classical music profession.

This year’s RPS Awards are for achievements in the UK in the most recent concert season, between 1 September 2024 and 31 August 2025. You can read about each category and their criteria here on our website. A special username and password, specifically for this purpose, is being sent by email to all RPS Members and circulated to contacts across the classical music profession. If you work in the profession but have not received this and would like to nominate – or if you have any problems logging in – please call us on 020 7287 0019 or email us. For anyone with the username and password, you can start making your nominations by clicking the button below.

The closing date for nominations is 10am on Wednesday 24 September 2025 and we regret we cannot accept late nominations.

Once nominations are in, a shortlist of exceptional entrants and eventual winners will be decided later in Autumn by expert panels newly drawn each year from across the music profession. Shortlists will be announced in January, in association with our longstanding Awards partner BBC Radio 3. 

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. Please save the date, tell friends, and we would love you to make the journey to join us and a host of classical music-lovers and music-makers, for a night to remember.

Who ends up in the running is in your hands: we invite you to seize the moment, take time to reflect on what’s musically inspired you this year, and set about casting your nominations. 

Play a central role in classical music’s biggest night

The RPS Awards are a unique moment in the year to come together and celebrate the positive impact that classical music has, with special guests, inspirational stories, and live music. As a charity, we present the RPS Awards with generous support from individuals and organisations who believe in shining a deserved light on the outstanding artists and initiatives whose music rouses the nation. We are proud to present the RPS Awards with the support of friends across the music profession. If you would like to talk to us about sponsorship and how you or your organisation could have a visible, fruitful association with the RPS Awards, we would love to hear from you. Please contact Harriet Wybor, our General Manager, to talk further about this.