This prestigious prize is presented to an individual or group who have made an outstanding contribution to music in their community.
Nominations open until 6 June 2025!
The prize is named after Lady Hilary Groves who was Vice President of Making Music and a strongn supporter of leisure-time music making in the UK.
You can nominate a Making Music member group or an individual from a member group who has made a real difference to the musical life of your local community.
This is about consistent and long-term impact – not a one-off or short-term project. We know so many Making Music members (and/or individuals in them) have a strong impact on their community, often built up over years and decades, and these are the stories we would like to hear and share under this award.
Past winners
2024: Jane Edwardson of Gay Abandon
2023: Christopher Green of the Trianon Music Group
2021: Derek Harrison of Hertford Choral Society
2020: Vilma Weaver of Ashira Singers
2019: Andrew Jackson of the Cobweb Orchestra
2018: Mark Lawrence of the Big Friendly Choir
2017: Clare Edwards of notorious choir
2016: Lila Hallett of Chester Music Society
2015: Angela Kay of Music for Everyone
2014: Andrea Encinas of British Gospel Arts
2013: Adrian Brown of Stoneleigh Youth Orchestra Society
2012: Peter and Vivien Harrison of Grayshott Concerts and Graham Reid of Aberdeen Strathspey & Reel Society
2010: Victoria Vandy of Watford Symphony Orchestra
2009: Dr. Maheshwar Godbole of the Indian Classical Music Society
2008: Julia O'Connor-Beach of Tyndale Choral Society
2007: Vivienne Bellos of Alyth Choral Society
2006: Margaret Frogson of Nottingham Symphonic Winds
2005: Martin Hooper of Sowerby Music Club
2004: David Aylett of Aylesbury Festival Choir
2002: Valerie Baulard of the Langcliffe Singers, Yorkshire (Sir Charles Groves Internal Prize)
2001: Elizabeth Emerson of Young Musicians Stornoway (Sir Charles Groves Internal Prize)
2000: Richard White of the Phoenix Singers, Shrewsbury (Sir Charles Groves Internal Prize)
Lady Hilary Groves and NFMS Chairman Jo Churchill present the 1992 prize to Bromsgrove Concerts’ Jim Page
The annual Lady Hilary Groves prize is awarded alongside the Sir Charles Groves Prize, a biennial national prize given to an individual or organisation making an outstanding contribution to British music, as selected by Making Music's Board of Management.
