Royal Philharmonic Society Awards 2025 honours Paraorchestra, Sarah Lianne Lewis and more
Taking place in Birmingham, Scotland’s Cumnock Tryst also picked up an award in a night that foregrounded inclusion and talent
In a night of affirmation for classical music across the UK, the Royal Philharmonic Society’s (RPS) 2025 awards took place in Birmingham on Thursday 6 March. With the days of ceremonial dinners in full evening dress at Mayfair hotels now consigned to RPS’s 200-plus year history, the sector gathered in their hundreds at an event hosted by Birmingham Royal Conservatoire.
%20and%20RPS%20Chair%20Angela%20Dixon%20at%20the%20RPS%20Awards%202025_%20Photo%20credit%20Greg%20Milner_.jpg)
Recognising the talents and achievements of artists and organisations from all four nations of the UK, awards were given across a number of categories, from small-scale composition to opera, with Scotland’s The Cumnock Tryst winning the Series And Events prize.
Accepting the award on behalf of the festival which he founded in his hometown of Cumnock, composer Sir James MacMillan described The Cumnock Tryst as ‘transformational for the community and for individuals, regardless of disability or social class, which is the great Achilles heel of classical music.
‘Winning the award sends a huge message back home to people in Cumnock and East Ayrshire that there is something significant going on.’
A hotly contested prize in the RPS awards, The Cumnock Tryst is likely to have impressed the judging panel across a number of areas, including its all-round excellence and community grassroots, and its awareness of the need to evolve year on year.
‘No festival is the same as those before it,’ MacMillan told us. ‘We have a commitment to present the best musicians in the UK, as well as from other places. Cumnock is an unexpected place to have a festival. It’s the sort of place that loses out on arts provision.’
Presented by BBC Radio 3 presenters Jess Gillam and Tom McKinney, it was a triumphant night for inclusion, especially for disabled artists, with awards presented to Paraorchestra, Open Arts Community Choir, and Welsh composer Sarah Lianne Lewis who works in joint collaboration with Drake Music Scotland and Tŷ Cerdd in Wales.
Highlights of the RPS Awards will be broadcast on BBC Radio 3 at 7.30pm on Friday 7 March, and will available for a further month on BBC Sounds. A film of the RPS Awards presentation will be available to watch for free for one month on the RPS site from Monday 17 March.