Nominations for the next Royal Philharmonic Society (RPS) Music Awards have been opened. The winners will be revealed at a ceremony held at The Brewery in Central London on Wednesday 9 May 2018.
These independent awards were set up in 1989 to celebrate ‘outstanding achievement in live music’; BBC Radio 3 has described the awards as the classical equivalent to ‘the Oscars, the BAFTAs and the Grammys all in one’.
The Awards celebrate individual performers, ensembles, composers and productions that took place in the UK in 2017. Music organisations and Royal Philharmonic Society members are asked each year to submit their nominations for the 13 categories that make up the evening.
Projects that expand audience participation in music have also been celebrated in the more recent RPS Awards shortlists, developing alongside the Society’s campaign to promote wider engagement with music. This was seen in the 2016 ceremony’s social media campaign exploring the importance of live performance, in which musicians and listeners summarised their thoughts on live music with the hashtag #LiveMusicIs.
Previous winners of RPS Music Awards include conductors Claudio Abbado and Marin Alsop, percussionist Colin Currie, soprano Joyce DiDonato and pianist Murray Perahia.
The upcoming ceremony will recognise some of the top musical achievements by performers, composers and arts organisations from 2017. After nominations close on the 16 January, independent juries will select the winners, who will be announced at the ceremony in May.