The Royal Philharmonic Society and the Duet Group are delighted to announce applications are now open for the 2018 RPS Duet Prizes for outstanding young instrumentalists and composers of secondary school age. The biennial prizes, first awarded in 2016, are part of ‘Ensemble Philharmonic’, an initiative by the Royal Philharmonic Society and The Duet Group, designed to build links between exceptional young musicians and secondary music departments, and the music profession through concerts, talks, masterclasses and creative collaborations.
The RPS Duet Prizes, supported by the Duet Group Charitable Foundation, aim to encourage and recognise musical excellence in formative years, and the inaugural RPS Duet Prizes in 2016 revealed a wealth of extraordinary young talent. The first RPS Duet Prize winners were 16-year-old cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason from Nottingham (who went on to win the BBC Young Musician of the Year 2016) and 18-year-old Cheltenham composer Freya Ireland (an association which has been further developed with her appointment as RPS/Wigmore Hall Apprentice Composer-in-Residence).
PRIZES
The winner of the Young Instrumentalist Prize will receive £1500 to assist their musical development and a public recital at a National Music Festival. The winner of the Young Composer Prize will also receive £1500 to assist their musical development and a UK performance of a commissioned composition, details to be agreed between the winner, and the RPS.
The RPS Duet Prizes are open to student musicians from schools and Hubs, but not specialist music schools, who are 18 or under on 31st August 2018. The deadline for applications is Midday, Wednesday 1 November 2017.
Full details of the RPS Duet Prizes and how to enter are contained within the information and application forms below.
