The competition is divided into six sections, Wind and Brass, Keyboard, Singers, Strings, String Ensembles and Mixed Ensembles. with a £15,000 first prize for solo performers and chamber ensemble awards of £10,000. The winners of the Wind & Brass, Singers, Strings, and Keyboard solo sections and the collaborative piano prize receive £5,000 each.
Our four solo winners progress to compete for the prestigious Gold Medal award, in a grand final held at Wigmore Hall, London.
The age limit for all competitors is 30. The solo awards are open to UK, all current and former Commonwealth countries, USA, all EU, EEA countries and Switzerland and at least one member of an ensemble must also be a UK or Commonwealth citizen.
We offer many performance opportunities to prize-winners after the competition at major venues such as Wigmore Hall in London and have established relationships with many UK festivals and promoters including Brighton, Buxton, RLPO, Lichfield, Lake District Summer Music, and North Norfolk. Our award-winning series of chamber music concerts at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe ran for many years.
More recently, we have organised concerts and tours for prize winners in Australia, Canada, Malta, New Zealand, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Antigua and Zimbabwe.
If you would like more information about the ROSL Annual Music Competition, please call the arts team 020 7408 0214 x 219 or email roslarts@rosl.org.uk.
In addition to the prizes listed, ROSL has a fund of up to £18,000 for awards for specific categories including non-UK Commonwealth musicians, particular instruments and for young musicians of exceptional promise. Additional prizes that are regularly awarded include the Philip Jones Brass Prize, the Yorke Trust Double Bass Prize,the Tait Memorial Trust Prize and the Richmond Concert Society Prize for Strings Ensembles.
Gold Medal and First Prize £15,000 (£10,000+£5,000 professional development scholarship)
Solo Keyboard Prize £5,000
Solo Strings Prize £5,000
Singers Prize £5,000
Solo Wind and Brass Prize £5,000
Award for collaborative pianists £5,000
String Ensembles Prize £10,000
Mixed Ensembles Prize £10,000
Overseas Award £3,000
Following a generous legacy received in memory of Mani Bhumgara, the Gold Medal winner will also receive a £5,000 scholarship, administered and mentored by us, to be spent flexibly on projects which will help support and build their career.
“I really can’t thank ROSL enough for giving me these wonderful opportunities. It’s been amazing to have your constant support and always pushing and believing in me even when I didn’t. I owe so much of my career to ROSL – for all the opportunities to learn more about myself in each performance.”
Emily Sun, Violinist, Annual Music Competition Gold Medal Winner.
The 2024 competition is open to citizens of the UK, Commonwealth and former Commonwealth Countries, the U.S.A, all EU and EEA countries and Switzerland, for instrumentalists and singers between the ages of 18 and 30 as at 14 June 2024. You must have citizenship at the time of application.
For ensembles, at least half the members of a group must be between the ages of 18 and 30, and the average age of the group must also be 30 or under.
Ashley Fripp, Keyboard Prize Winner