RNCM announces winners of 2026 Williams-Howard Prize

The winners of the annual Williams-Howard Prize celebrating and promoting the study and performance of art songs by composers of African heritage have been revealed.

Postgraduate student in the RNCM’s School of Vocal Studies and Opera, baritone Khaled Issa, was presented with the Samuel Coleridge-Taylor First Prize for his performance with RNCM postgraduate pianist Hannah Chiu. Their programme included Sylvia Hollifield’s In Time of Silver Rain and two pieces by Florence Price, My Soul’s Been Anchored in the Lord and My Dream, as well as music by Camille Nickerson, Henry T Burleigh, Robert Owens, Margaret Bonds, and Nadine Shanti.

Elizabeth Llewellyn MBE, Tebogo Monnakgotla, Hannah Chiu, Khaled Issa, Rachel Wheatley, Anastasia Gould, Matthew Vining, and Dr Nico de Villiers

Soprano Rachel Wheatley, currently in the third year of her undergraduate studies, was awarded the Avril Coleridge-Taylor Second Prize for her performance with collaborative pianist Anastasia Gould, which also included music by Price and Bonds, plus Undine Smith Moore’s Love Let the Wind Cry… How I Adore Thee and H Leslie Adams’ For You There is No Song.

The Amanda Ira Aldridge Honourable Mention went to undergraduate student soprano Matthew Vining, whose programme drew heavily on the work of Adams, as well as Price, Bonds, and Moses Hogan’s Give Me Jesus. Both Rachel and Matthew were accompanied by Anastasia, who is a third-year undergraduate student in the RNCM’s School of Keyboard Studies.

Renowned opera singer and RNCM alumna Elizabeth Llewellyn MBE, Swedish composer Tebogo Monnakgotla, and the RNCM’s Deputy Head of Vocal Studies Dr Nico de Villiers praised the quality of all six finalists. The three prize winners, who were also awarded cash prizes of between £100 and £600 each, will now perform a recital as part of the Colour My Song concert at the Buxton International Festival on Wednesday 22 July.

The Williams-Howard Prize was established by the late Michael Harper, RNCM Professor of Singing, whose international career as a countertenor uncovered the distinct and worrying lack of performances of these works. Michael, who passed away in March 2025 just a week after last year’s competition, made a significant and lasting contribution to the RNCM and the wider musical community.

The prize was endowed through the generosity of the RNCM’s supporters and will now contribute to the preservation, celebration, and performance of songs by composers of African heritage for generations to come. It is the first prize of its kind in Europe honouring both singers and collaborative pianists through performance of this vital repertoire, and it has been endorsed by Errollyn Wallen CBE, Master of the King’s Music, who described the prize as ‘a vital initiative, shining a light on historic composers who have been unjustly overlooked, while celebrating contemporary artists shaping our musical world today’.

She continues: ‘As a composer and performer, I have seen a real shift as music I’ve championed has taken root in conservatoires and concert halls. Ten years ago, Michael Harper introduced me to the music of Margaret Bonds when few in the UK were singing her works; now her music is heard on major stages. This is the power of dedicated research, advocacy, and performance. 

‘The Prize is more than an award – it is a movement that is forging new connections across Britain, the Commonwealth, and Europe. It ensures that the wealth and range of this musical heritage can be fully embraced and that underrepresented voices can take their rightful place on the world’s most prestigious stages.’

6 March 2026