Cellist Laura van der Heijden and violinist Leia Zhu are among those nominated for this year’s RPS Awards to be held 6 March

Laura van der Heijden - Instrumentalist (c) Venetia Jollands

Cellist Laura van der Heijden © Venetia Jollands

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The Royal Philharmonic Society (RPS) has announced its shortlists for 2025, casting a light on individuals, groups and initiatives that inspire communities musically in the UK.

The shortlists include top string players among its nominees. Cellist Laura van der Heijden, who appeared on the June 2024 issue of The Strad, has been nominated for Best Instrumentalist, alongside horn player Ben Goldscheider and pianist Isata Kanneh-Mason.

18-year-old violinist Leia Zhu has been nominated for the Young Artist Award, alongside conductor Charlotte Corderoy and the GBSR Duo.

Kate Kennedy’s recent book Cello: A Journey Through Silence to Sound, which traces four cellists of the 19th and 20th centuries beset by misfortune and tragedy, has been nominated for Best Storytellingalongside Backstage with the London Philharmonic Orchestra from Sky Arts and Classical Africa from BBC Radio 3.

The nominees for Best Ensemble include the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, CBSO Chorus, and Paraorchestra, noted for its inclusion of disabled musicians.

The RPS Awards will be held in Birmingham for the first time this year on 6 March 2025 at Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. The awards ceremony will feature performances from a range of nominees and will be hosted by BBC Radio 3 presenters Jess Gillam and Tom McKinney with trophies presented by RPS chair Angela Dixon.

The event will be filmed to watch on the RPS website from Monday 17 March and BBC Radio 3 presents a special broadcast featuring music of the winners and nominees on Friday 7 March.

A full list of winners can be found here.

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