Page 52 - Final_RPS Awards 2020 Media Coverage Book

of Leeds Schools Singing Programme, The Opera Story, Stay At Home
Choir, #UriPosteJukeBox and the Virtual Benedetti Sessions. For this award, the
RPS opened nominations to the public for the first time, inviting households nationally to
share what has moved them musically since March: an unprecedented 2,600
nominations were received.

The Impact Award – awarded for initiatives that have a lasting positive effect on people
who may not otherwise experience classical music – went to City of London
Sinfonia for ‘Sound Young Minds’ which powerfully defines how classical musicians can
play a transformative role in the lives of young people with mental health issues,
boosting their confidence, social skills and trust.

The Gamechanger Award recognising those who break new ground in classical music
is awarded to conductor Jane Glover for earnestly carving a path for women
conductors, long before it became a movement. Aptly complementing that, this year’s
Conductor Award goes to Dalia Stasevska for the energy and integrity she has brought
to her new association with the BBC Symphony Orchestra.

Other winners include: viola player Lawrence Power (Instrumentalist Award), an
outstanding advocate for his instrument, constantly commissioning new works for the
viola; composers Naomi Pinnock (Chamber-Scale Composition) for I am, I
am and Frank Denyer (Large-Scale Composition) for The Fish That Became The
Sun which waited 24 years to receive its UK premiere at the Huddersfield Contemporary
Music Festival last year; Kings Place’s year-longVenus Unwrapped celebrating female
artists (Concert Series and Events); and Stephen Hough’s book ‘Rough
Ideas’ (Storytelling).

Winners were announced in the 2020 RPS Awards digital broadcast at 7.00pm on
Wednesday 18 November on the RPS website, where it remains available to view on
demand. Presented by BBC Radio 3’s Georgia Mann, it featured performances by
Sheku Kanneh-Mason, Natalya Romaniw and Lawrence Power, specially filmed at the
Wigmore Hall.

Longstanding RPS Awards partner BBC Radio 3 will present a musical celebration of
the RPS Awards winners at 7.30pm on Monday 23 November.

Above: Natalya Romaniw with John Gilhooly at the RPS 2020 Awards, presented at
Wigmore Hall