The Royal Philharmonic Society has presented an Honorary Membership to composer and conductor Sir James MacMillan ahead of its annual awards which will be held in Birmingham for the first time.
The Honorary Membership was presented to MacMillan onstage at Glasgow City Halls on Thursday 20 February during a concert in which he conducted the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra.
Recorded for broadcast on BBC Radio 3, the concert included the Scottish premiere of James MacMillan’s Concerto for Orchestra entitled Ghosts and new works by a host of younger Scottish composers whom James has mentored through his festival, The Cumnock Tryst.
Since 1826, the RPS has presented Honorary Membership in recognition of those who devote their lives to music and uplifting others with it. It was first presented to the composer Weber and subsequent recipients include Yehudi Menuhin, Fanny Waterman and more recently Evelyn Glennie, Marin Alsop, the broadcaster Humphrey Burton, the opera directors Graham Vick and David Pountney, Thea Musgrave, Stephen Sondheim, and Judith Weir. Recipients are annually chosen by the RPS Board and Council.
Presenting James with his certificate, RPS Chair Angela Dixon: “James, what astonishing light, what gripping drama bursts out of your music. From the early thunderclaps of Veni, Veni Emmanuel and The Confession of Isobel Gowdie – premiered with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra at the BBC Proms – to tonight’s new Concerto for Orchestra, every note you commit to manuscript reverberates with emotion and intent. Each work is the product of an extraordinary mind – and a generous heart.”
Commenting on the upcoming awards evening on 6 March, RPS Chief Executive James Murphy said: ‘We often see classical music make news due to setbacks and funding cuts. Yet a resoundingly different story is being forged by musicians nationwide who – whatever they face – resiliently, creatively keep giving everything they have for the benefit of others. Communities recognise this, and they treasure it.”
Pictured above are some of those shortlisted for the RPS Awards 2025 – clockwise: Streetwise Opera, Isata Kanneh-Mason, Sally Beamish, Dinis Sousa, RNCM’s The Future is Green, Scottish Chamber Orchestra
For more information, visit the Royal Philharmonic Society website.