RPS Music Award Nominations for RNCM Composers

RNCM Visiting Professor in Composition, Gary Carpenter, and RNCM alumni Sally Beamish and Martin Butler have all been nominated for a Royal Philharmonic Society (RPS) Music Award for chamber-scale composition.

The annual RPS Music Awards, presented in association with BBC Radio 3, are the highest recognition for live classical music in the UK. Awards, in 13 categories, are decided by independent panels consisting of some of the music industry’s most distinguished practitioners.

Gary, who has been nominated with his Piano Trio (2011), says: ‘It goes without saying that I am extremely honoured to have been shortlisted for this award, particularly as I find myself in such distinguished company. My Piano Trio is a single movement work divided into two distinct halves lasting just under 10 minutes. It was written at the request of Pei-Jee Ng, a former RNCM student who had premièred my Dioscuri for two 'cellos with his twin brother, Pei-Sian in 2010. Pei-Jee's Fournier Trio (presently the Leverhulme Chamber Music Fellows at the Royal Academy of Music) gave an extraordinarily fine first performance at the Wigmore Hall, London in October 2011 and I am certain that the recording of this performance contributed greatly to its being selected by the RPS.’

Sally’s composition, Reed Stanzas, was written for the Elias Quartet (also RNCM alumni) and was commissioned by BBC Radio 3. It was first performed on July 25 last year in the Cadogan Hall, London, as part of the BBC Proms Chamber Music Series.

“I am thrilled that this piece has been selected for the shortlist. It was a huge pleasure for me to have the chance to work with the Elias Quartet, and their special blend of sensitivity and power had a lot to do with its conception. And, of course, Donald Grant's exceptional skills as a traditional fiddler.”

Martin Butler, described by the Financial Times as ‘clever, constantly ingenious and coolly eclectic,’ has been nominated for his piece Rondes d'Automne; a nonet commissioned by the New London Chamber Ensemble.

The Awards honour musicians, composers, writers, broadcasters and inspirational arts organisations. This year’s winners, who will be announced at the awards dinner on Tuesday 8 May and broadcast on BBC Radio 3 on Sunday 13 May in a dedicated programme at 2pm, celebrate outstanding achievement in 2011.

To learn more visit www.rpsmusicawards.com

Gary Carpenter’s Piano Trio has since been performed in Bucharest by Ensemble Profil and is published by Cadenza Music. A copy resides in the RNCM library and you can listen to the Fournier Trio performance here. 

24 April 2012