Royal Philharmonic Society Awards – 2026 shortlists revealed, ahead of ‘the biggest night in UK classical music’
- Shortlists across 11 categories for the 2026 RPS Awards announced today, with soprano Louise Alder, conductor John Wilson, and hit opera Festen among the nominees
- Tickets from £10 now on sale for the RPS Awards, at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, London, on Thursday 12 March
- Public voting continues for the RPS Inspiration Award, celebrating amateur music-making across the UK
One of the UK’s leading music charities, the Royal Philharmonic Society (RPS) today announces the shortlists for its 2026 RPS Awards. These showcase a host of good news stories about classical music in the UK, and shine a light on the musicians, ensembles, organisations and initiatives that inspire and enrich lives nationwide.
Following presentations in Manchester and Birmingham in 2024 and 2025 respectively, ‘the biggest night in UK classical music’ (The Sunday Times) returns to London in 2026 for a star-studded evening that welcomes major figures in music, celebrity enthusiasts, and the music-loving public. The RPS Awards take place at the Southbank Centre’s Queen Elizabeth Hall, on Thursday 12 March 2026 with tickets priced affordably from £10 to £35 (plus venue booking fee and restoration levy).
RPS Chief Executive James Murphy says: ‘The RPS Awards shortlists represent the remarkable creativity and dedication of music-makers who do so much to brighten our nation. Here we see musicians giving the best of themselves for the benefit of others. We warmly invite the music-loving public to join us in person at the RPS Awards on Thursday 12 March, to celebrate all the brilliant music made right here in the UK.’
Among the star names shortlisted are conductor John Wilson, soprano Louise Alder who sang at the 2025 BBC Last Night of the Proms, composer Mark-Anthony Turnage for The Royal Ballet and Opera’s hit Festen, and Peter Moore who in 2008, aged just 12, won the televised final of BBC Young Musician, and now becomes the first trombone player to be shortlisted for the RPS Instrumentalist Award.
The shortlists are a national success story, with nominees from Scotland (including Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Kirkcaldy Orchestral Society, Scotland-based composer David Fennessy, and Glasgow’s Nordic Music Days festival), Wales (including the choir Cantorion Llandrindod, and the community opera Gresffordd: I’r Goleuni ’Nawr / Gresford: Up from Underground) and across England (including Bradford Accordion Band, Birmingham Opera Company, and Kent’s JAM on the Marsh festival).
Classical music’s power to change lives for the better is proven once again by the RPS Impact Award, where the shortlist includes the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment’s stunning Breaking Bach in which school students found creativity and confidence, dancing new moves to J.S. Bach; Gresffordd: I’r Goleuni ’Nawr / Gresford: Up from Underground where a Welsh community found unity and catharsis making an opera about the village’s historic mining disaster; and Orchestras for All, the music charity that empowers young people to take the lead in their own experience, organising life-changing creative experiences for those who would not otherwise have such opportunity.
Disabled artists are celebrated, with nominations for one-handed pianist Nicholas McCarthy in the Instrumentalist category, having wowed the BBC Proms last Summer, blind pianist Ethan Loch in the Young Artist category, and Deaf cornet player Sean Chandler for his work with Shepherd Brass Band in York, in the Inspiration category.
Multiple nominees represent the global majority including Iranian composer Golfam Khayam, South African mezzo soprano Masabane Cecilia Rangwanasha, Venezuelan conductor Domingo Hindoyan, and British-born Lebanese composer Bushra El-Turk.
The UK’s constellation of amateur groups is recognised with the RPS Inspiration Award, the winner of which is decided by public vote from a shortlist comprising Bradford Accordion Band, Cantorion Llandrindod, Kirkcaldy Orchestral Society, and Sean Chandler and Shepherd Brass Band. Visit the RPS website by 11am on Monday 2 February 2026 to discover more about the nominees and vote for this award.
This year’s RPS Awards, featuring performances from a range of nominees, is hosted by BBC Radio 3 presenters Georgia Mann and Petroc Trelawny with trophies presented by RPS Chair Angela Dixon. The event will be filmed to watch on the RPS website from Thursday 19 March, and BBC Radio 3 presents a special broadcast featuring music of the winners and nominees at 7.30pm on Friday 13 March.
The RPS Awards can only happen thanks to dedicated supporters, and the charity is especially grateful to this year’s Principal Supporters – BBC Radio 3, ABRSM, BBC Music Magazine, Decca Classics, Dorico from Steinberg, Presto Music, PRS for Music, and Sir Simon and Victoria, Lady Robey CBE – and those who support individual awards as detailed below.
Link for press images:
For further information please contact:
Rebecca Driver Media Relations
Email: maddie@rdmr.co.uk / 07807 831113
Web: rdmr.co.uk
Booking
Royal Philharmonic Society Awards
7.00pm Thursday 12 March 2026
Queen Elizabeth Hall, Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London, SE1 8XX
Tickets: £10 – £35 plus £2 restoration levy and £3.50 booking fee
Southbank Centre booking online: Royal Philharmonic Society Awards 2026 | Southbank Centre
Southbank Centre booking by telephone: 020 3879 9555
For further details visit https://royalphilharmonicsociety.org.uk
Principal Supporters:
