Royal Academy of Music announces 2026 honours
Clockwise from top left: Vilde Frang, Sir Trevor Nunn, Christine Allado, Elim Chan, Leif Ove Andsnes, Louise Alder
© Marco Borggreve (Vilde Frang), Alamy (Sir Trevor Nunn), Simon Pauly (Elim Chan), Gregor Hohenberg (Leif Ove Andsnes), Will Alder (Louise Alder)
News Story
The Royal Academy of Music announces the musicians who will receive honours in 2026. Each year, the Academy marks the contribution of today’s leading musicians, including performers, composers, educators and artists. The list of honorands includes a range of distinguished people across the profession, who have made a significant impact in their field.
Internationally renowned musical theatre and Shakespeare director Sir Trevor Nunn will receive an honorary degree (Hon DMus). Sir Trevor has led some of the UK’s most prestigious theatrical institutions as Artistic Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company (1968–1986), the National Theatre (1997–2003) and the Theatre Royal Haymarket (2011–present). A recipient of multiple Tony and Olivier Awards, his career spans stage, film and television, and he has been instrumental in shaping modern musical theatre, directing productions such as Cats, Les Misérables (with John Caird), Starlight Express, Sunset Boulevard and Fiddler on the Roof.
Since first attending shows at the Academy, at the invitation of the great philanthropist, Susie Sainsbury, I have felt a very special connection. More recently Academy students, directed by Matt Ryan, performed songs and sequences from the many musicals I have been lucky enough to direct. The performances were superb. I feel I have already been honoured to have had a close connection with this wonderful place over many years. But now, to have been chosen by the Royal Academy of Music as a recipient of an Honorary Doctorate, I feel joyously and tearfully privileged
The Academy will welcome six new Fellows, an honour reserved for alumni. Spanning an array of musical styles, star of the West End Christine Allado, who was nominated for a Grammy Award in the category Best Musical Album for the original recording of The Prince of Egypt, is joined by composer Gareth Coker, who has composed work for video games, including Ori and the Will of the Wisps, Ori and the Blind Forest and Halo Infinite, as well as for film and TV. Instrumentalists being recognised this year include violinist Giovanni Guzzo, who has established himself as one of the most versatile musicians of his generation, and Academy professor and Director of the Junior Jazz course Gareth Lockrane, who won the Best European Jazz Group award with his band Grooveyard. Conductor Alexander Soddy, celebrated for his interpretation of Wagner in particular, and soprano Christina Gansch, who has performed on global stages, including the Royal Opera House, San Francisco Opera and Paris Opera will also be celebrated at this year’s Graduation Ceremony.
Leading names from a breadth of musical genres will be awarded Honorary Membership of the Royal Academy of Music, an honour which is limited to 300 outstanding musicians, who did not attend the Academy. This year’s list of luminaries includes star soprano Louise Alder; prolific pianist Leif Ove Andsnes; sought-after conductor Elim Chan, who was recently announced as the incoming Music Director of the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra; eminent Choral Conductor Harry Christophers, who founded The Sixteen; leading violinists Vilde Frang, who will perform as soloist alongside an orchestra comprised of Academy and Juilliard students this summer at the BBC Proms and the Lincoln Center, and Elena Urioste, who has performed with major orchestras across the world, complete the list.
Lord Norman Blackwell, who attended Junior Academy and has been a member of the Academy’s Governing Body since 2017 becomes an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Academy of Music.
To celebrate extraordinary musical accomplishment over so many areas of the profession is one of the greatest pleasures the Academy’s Honours afford. With the earlier ceremony in April when we gathered for those who received Associateships, our Graduation completes the cycle with nominations for Fellowships and Honorary Members. Our Honorary Doctorate suitably rounds off the year with a figure who has contributed to almost every conceivable angle of the performing arts