The Royal Philharmonic Society announced their music awards yesterday evening at The Brewery in the City of London. The awards celebrate live music-making and recognise outstanding musical achievement in the UK during 2016. Award winners are chosen by independent juries of leading music practitioners from hundreds of nominations nationwide. RPS Chairman John Gilhooly said the ceremony:
“This year’s RPS Music Award winners take no prisoners, united in their excellence and their commitment to removing barriers to listening or participation in classical music. The awards celebrate live music of extraordinary quality and ambition, taking place across the width and breadth of the country (closer to home than many might think). I’d urge those who have yet to experience its multifarious pleasures to get out there and listen and make music, in the moment, of the moment. Live Music Is… more vibrant than ever.”
The full list of winners is as follows:
Audiences and Engagement: East Neuk Festival, in collaboration with 14-18 NOW: Memorial Ground (David Lang)
Chamber Music and Song: Fretwork
Chamber-Scale Composition: Rebecca Saunders: Skin
Concert Series and Festivals: Lammermuir Festival
Conductor: Richard Farnes
Creative Communication: Beethoven for a Later Age: The Journey of a String Quartet by Edward Dusinberre (Faber)
Ensemble: Manchester Camerata
Instrumentalist: James Ehnes
Large-Scale Composition: Philip Venables: 4.48 Psychosis
Learning and Participation: South-West Open Youth Orchestra
Opera and Music Theatre: Opera North: Ring Cycle
Singer: Karita Mattila
Young Artists: Joseph Middleton
More information at the RPS website.