Sitar player makes history at top classical awards

British musician Jasdeep Singh Degun has said it is "an absolute honour" to become the first sitar player to win a Royal Philharmonic Society Award.

Singh Degun, from Leeds, was named best instrumentalist at the prestigious classical music ceremony on Tuesday.

He told BBC News the prize was "testament to the hundreds of Indian classical musicians in this country".

"And it feels like we've really stepped forward into the classical psyche, which is which is wonderful," he said.

Singh Degun picked up his award at a ceremony in Manchester - the first time the RPS event has been held outside London in its 35-year history.

He composed and appeared in Orpheus, an acclaimed new version of Monteverdi's Orfeo combining Indian and Western classical music for Opera North, which was nominated for best large-scale composition.

Singh Degun's debut album, Anomaly, came out on Peter Gabriel's Real World Records in 2022.

"One of the musicians who I worked with on the album plays tennis with Peter Gabriel," he said.

"So he put me in touch, and then we got an email from Peter saying, 'This is a brilliant album.' That was the first domino of me being signed."

Previous winners of the RPS instrumentalist award include violinist Nicola Benedetti, cellist Steven Isserlis and percussionist Dame Evelyn Glennie.

Other winners this year included charismatic Scottish tenor Nicky Spence, who was named singer of the year; and the London Symphony Orchestra's principal guest conductor François-Xavier Roth, who won best conductor.

Ukrainian opera Chornobyldorf - described as "a post-apocalyptic fantasy" and featuring often naked performers - won the opera and music prize, beating entries by the Royal Opera and Glyndebourne.

A team of 20 singers, musicians and technicians travelled from Ukraine to stage it at the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival and in a Liverpool nightclub last year.

Composer Illia Razumeiko described the award as "a miracle".

"It's very unexpected for us to be listed together with big classical class-A opera houses like Royal Opera," he said.

"It's a big honour and a big joy for all our team and all our our colleagues in Ukraine."

The BBC Singers, who were under threat of closure until a reprieve last month, were named best ensemble; and the two-day Manchester Classical festival won best event.

The decision to host the award ceremony in the city this year was partly inspired by last year's wins for the Manchester Collective and Manchester Camerata, RPS chief executive James Murphy said.

"It's a very creative and fertile city," he said. "There's an incredible music-loving community here, and Manchester has welcomed us with open arms."

Listen to a special programme celebrating the Royal Philharmonic Society Awards on BBC Radio 3 at 19:30 GMT on Wednesday and on BBC Sounds.