The winners of the 2026 Royal Philharmonic Society (RPS) Awards were announced last night, 'shining a light on musicians and musical initiatives doing so much to inspire and enrich lives' throughout the UK.
Taking place at Queen Elizabeth Hall at London's Southbank Centre, the ceremony featured performances from a range of nominees and was hosted by BBC Radio 3 presenters Georgia Mann and Petroc Trelawny.
Among the 2026 RPS Awards winners are singer, multi-instrumentalist and composer Jacob Collier, soprano Louise Alder, Sinfonia of London conductor John Wilson, composer Mark-Anthony Turnage and trumpeter Matilda Lloyd.
See the full list of 2026 RPS Awards winners below:
Chamber-Scale Composition
Claudia Molitor – Fever
Molitor’s work for eight trumpets and pre-record is ‘a call for hope of reconnecting to each other and our fellow creatures, to find a way to live with our environment, not against it,’ writes the composer.
Conductor
John Wilson
Since relaunching Sinfonia of London in 2018, John Wilson has become a towering musical presence – be it on record or in the concert hall. Both a wonderful arranger-researcher and an exciting podium presence, he has conducted many of the world’s finest orchestras.
Ensemble
Royal Scottish National Orchestra
Founded in 1891, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra is today led by music director Thomas Søndergård, and performs both locally and internationally. The RSNO believes that music ‘can enrich lives and aims to inspire, educate and entertain people throughout Scotland and beyond’.
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Impact
Orchestras for All
The Orchestras for All movement wishes to improve access to music-making for young people aged 11-19, regardless of ‘educational ability, socio-economic status and disability’, through its National Orchestra for All, Modulo Programme and Music Leadership Training.
Inspiration
Kirkcaldy Orchestral Society
Celebrating its 150th anniversary in 2025, Kirkcaldy Orchestral Society has been inspiring music making in Fife since 1875 – and welcomes musicians of all standards to play alongside each other, conducted by long-term music director Graeme Wilson.
Large-Scale Composition
Mark-Anthony Turnage – Festen
Turnage’s 2024 opera is a tale of family heartbreak and horror, adapted from Danish film director Thomas Vinterberg’s black comedy. Featuring a libretto by Lee Hall, the work received its premiere at the Royal Opera House in November 2025, conducted by Edward Gardner.
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Opera and Music Theatre
Glyndebourne – Uprising
Jonathan Dove and April De Angelis composed the largest community opera in Glyndebourne’s history, featuring a cast of more than 140 performers – including professional singers, a youth chorus, an adult community chorus, a professional orchestra alongside young instrumentalists, and a youth percussion ensemble. The opera is an urgent call to action on the climate emergency.
Series and Events
Southbank Centre – Multitudes
Southbank Centre’s multi-arts festival presented ‘orchestral music reimagined for all the senses by world-class orchestras, dancers, visual artists and filmmakers’. On the bill were the Aurora Orchestra playing by heart, the Philharmonia performing head-banging rock and the OAE in cutting-edge surround sound, among others.
Singer
Louise Alder (soprano)
This versatile and widely-recorded British soprano is equally at home in opera, concert and recital venues. This season she makes her US operatic debut in Carmen at San Francisco Opera and role debuts in Don Giovanni at the Vienna State Opera and Le Nozze di Figaro at Glyndebourne.
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Storytelling
Elizabeth Alker – Everything We Do Is Music
Alker’s fascinating publication explores ‘the ways in which pop and rock were transformed by the pioneering visionaries of classical music’ – and demonstrates in absorbing detail just how much popular music owes to the classical canon.
Young Artist
Matilda Lloyd (trumpet)
This brilliant young artist is proving to be an important advocate for her instrument and for female brass players in general, with a growing discography on Chandos. Highlights this season include her performance of Helen Grime’s night-sky-blue with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, and her Korean debut playing the Haydn Trumpet Concerto with the Korean National Symphony Orchestra.
Gamechanger
Jacob Collier
Jacob Collier is a true 21st Century gamechanger. Singer, multi-instrumentalist, composer, arranger, producer and educator, he goes beyond traditional definitions and – in doing so – shows millions that they can too. From his first homemade videos that wowed the internet, he said: look what music you can make, even in your bedroom, with the simplest of tools. Fast-forward to his recent tours: rousing the O2 and packed stadiums worldwide to sing their hearts out, he inspires vast crowds to discover and embrace their own creativity.
Where and when can I watch the RPS Awards 2026?
The event will be available to watch on the RPS website from 19 March. In addition, BBC Radio 3 presents a special broadcast featuring music of the winners and nominees on 13 March, available for a further month on BBC Sounds.
