Lewis Memorial Prize

 The Anthony Lewis Memorial Prize competition was established by the Musica Britannica Trust in 1986 in memory of the first General Editor and Chairman of Musica Britannica, Sir Anthony Lewis. Today, the renamed Lewis Memorial Prize competition commemorates the lives of both Sir Anthony and his wife Lesley, Lady Lewis, who supported it for many years. Originally held biennially, a generous bequest from Lady Lewis has enabled the competition to continue as an annual event, held alternately for singers, keyboard players, or consorts. Details of previous awards can be found here. 

The 2026 competition was for keyboard players and was held in London at the Royal Academy of Music on 9 April 2026.  The finalists were Anhad Arora, Adam Chillingworth, Ceci Keiffer, Paul Mnatsakanov, Li Xu-Zhang and Han Zhao. The judges awarded first prize to Adam Chillingworth (University of Durham) and second prize to Anhad Arora (University of Oxford).

The 2027 competition is for singers and will be held in London at the Royal Academy of Music on 31 March 2027.

Sir Anthony Lewis (1976) by Pamela Thalben-Ball. Reproduced with permission from the Royal Academy of Music, London.

Eligibility Criteria  

The competition is open to students currently registered at a UK higher-education institution (university or conservatoire), and to early-career performers who have graduated from such an institution no more than five years before the date of the competition. 

  1. Applicants may be registered as either full- or part-time students.  

  2. Both undergraduate and postgraduate students are eligible to apply. 

  3. Applicants need not necessarily be reading for a Music degree. 

  4. For early-career performers, the period of five years begins from the date of their graduation from their highest-achieved higher-education qualification in Music.   

  5. Students who are registered as study-abroad students at a UK institution throughout the period when the competition runs (October 2026 to March 2027) are also eligible to apply. 

  6. Applicants must provide proof of their current institutional registration or graduation date (e.g. via official transcript or degree certificate) with their application. 

  7. Previous prize winners are not eligible to enter the competition again, but other former candidates may do so, provided they still meet the eligibility criteria outlined above.

How to Enter 

Candidates must submit an application form, together with an audio-visual audition recording, and two letters of recommendation. Applicants should consult the full list of competition regulations and procedures before submitting their application. The deadline for the 2027 competition is Friday 4 December 2026.

  1. The audition recording must be of no more than ten minutes’ duration and must be clearly introduced as a recording made specifically for the Lewis Memorial Prize competition. Professional-quality recordings are not required.  

  2. The pieces chosen for audition need not be taken from Musica Britannica volumes, but applicants should aim to choose repertory that allows the judges to evaluate their potential to perform music from the edition. 

  3. The recording must either be sent as an electronic audio-visual file (mp4 or wmv format only) with the application (preferably using WeTransfer, or via another internet-based file-transfer service), or be uploaded to YouTube as an unlisted video, with the link provided within the application.   

  4. The letters of recommendation must come from established musicians with direct knowledge of the candidate’s performing capabilities, one of whom should be connected to the candidate’s institution / former institution (this may include recently retired staff). Applicants are responsible for providing their referees with a copy of the guidelines for referees.

  5. The letters of recommendation must be sent with the application, so the applicant must arrange to receive them from the referees in advance of the deadline. 

  6. Applications, letters of recommendation and audition video recordings (or links) should be sent by the candidate by email to the organiser, Rachel Stott (lewismemorialprize@gmail.com) by 5 p.m. on Friday 4 December 2026.