“Small Performing Arts Event of the Year 2023”
(seventh annual Greater London Enterprise Awards)
Masterclass and Schubert Song Prize
Kindly sponsored by the Schubert Society of Britain
Wednesday 19th November 2025, 2pm and 5.30pm
Lancaster Hall Hotel, 35 Craven Terrace, London W2 3EL (nearest tube, Paddington)
The 2025 London Song Festival masterclass is given by the internationally acclaimed collaborative pianist and Director of Leeds Lieder, Joseph Middleton. It is open to voice and piano duos age 32 and under, selected by audition, who are asked to present two songs (in any language), at least one of which must be by Schubert. Masterclass participants also compete for the Schubert Song Prize.
Important dates:
Wednesday 29th October – deadline for applications
Sunday 2nd November – Auditions
Wednesday 19th November – Masterclass and Schubert Song Prize
The masterclass is open to voice and piano duos age 32 and under.
The auditions are free to enter, but each successful duo will be required to pay a £50 fee to participate in the masterclass.
Applications can be sent by submitting the attached form:
Masterclass Application Form 2025 — LSF
The masterclass is open to the public, tickets available here*
Wednesday 19th November 2025, 2pm and 5.30pm
Lancaster Hall Hotel, 35 Craven Terrace, London W2 3EL (nearest tube, Paddington)
Please note that the London Song Festival does not issue paper tickets, as we love trees too much for that. The names of all ticket purchasers will be on a list at the door and will be admitted accordingly.
Joseph Middleton
Pianist Joseph Middleton specializes in the art of song accompaniment and chamber music and has been internationally acclaimed as one of the finest musicians in this field. Described in Opera Magazine as ‘the rightful heir to legendary accompanist Gerald Moore’, by BBC Music Magazine as ‘one of the brightest stars in the world of song and Lieder’, he has also been labelled ‘the cream of the new generation’ by The Times.
He is a passionate advocate for the transformative power of music, and as well as performing and recording world-wide, he is a festival director and sought-after pedagogue. Named ‘the absolute King of programming’ by Gramophone Magazine, Joseph frequently devises series for BBC Radio 3, Wigmore Hall and the University of Cambridge. He is Musician in Residence at, and Bye-Fellow of Pembroke College Cambridge where he curates a series of song recitals and directs the University’s Lieder Scheme. He is a Fellow of his alma mater, the Royal Academy of Music, where he is also a Professor of Ensemble Piano. For the past 11 years he has also been Director of Leeds Song, a Festival recently praised in the Guardian for its ‘World-class’ programming and lauded in The Times for bringing: ‘musical riches to Yorkshire through star performers, engaging new commissions and bold educational projects….a Northern powerhouse of song.’
Joseph is a frequent guest at major music centres including London’s Wigmore Hall, Royal Opera House, Barbican and Royal Festival Hall, New York’s Alice Tully Hall and Park Avenue Armory, Het Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Konzerthaus and Musikverein Vienna, Zürich Tonhalle, Hamburg Elbphilharmonie, Berlin BoulezSaal and Philharmonic, Kölner Philharmonie, Teatro de la Zarzuela Madrid, Strasbourg, Frankfurt, Lille and Gothenburg Opera Houses, Baden-Baden Festspielhaus, Philharmonie Luxembourg, Musée d’Orsay Paris, Oji Hall Tokyo and Festivals in Aix-en-Provence, Aldeburgh, Barcelona, Schloss Elmau, Edinburgh, Heidelberger Frühling, Munich, Ravinia, San Francisco, Schubertiade Hohenems and Schwarzenberg, deSingel, Soeul, Stuttgart, Toronto and Vancouver. He made his BBC Proms debut in 2016 alongside Iestyn Davies and Carolyn Sampson and returned in 2018 alongside Dame Sarah Connolly where they premiered recently discovered songs by Benjamin Britten.
Joseph enjoys recitals with internationally established singers including Sir Thomas Allen, Louise Alder, Mary Bevan, Ian Bostridge, Allan Clayton, Dame Sarah Connolly, Marianne Crebassa, Iestyn Davies, Fatma Said, Veronique Gens, Huw Montague Rendall, Elsa Dreisig, Sir Simon Keenlyside, Angelika Kirchschlager, Katharina Konradi, Dame Felicity Lott, Christopher Maltman, John Mark Ainsley, Ann Murray DBE, James Newby, Mark Padmore, Mauro Peter, Miah Persson, Sophie Rennert, Dorothea Röschmann, Masabane Cecilia Rangwanasha, Kate Royal, Carolyn Sampson, Nicky Spence and Roderick Williams.
He has a special relationship with BBC Radio 3, frequently curating his own series and performing alongside the BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artists. His critically acclaimed and fast-growing discography has seen him awarded a Diapason D’or, Edison Award and Priz Caecilia as well as receiving numerous nominations for ECHO, Opus-Klassik, Gramophone, BBC Music Magazines and International Classical Music Awards. His interest in the furthering of the song repertoire has led him to commission and give the premieres of major new works by important voices including: Thomas Adès, Nico Muhly, Hannah Kendall, Cheryl Frances Hoad, Daniel Kidane, Mark Anthony Turnage, Errollyn Wallen, Helen Grime, Huw Watkins, Brian Elias, Judith Bingham, Ed Nesbitt, Deborah Pritchard, Kate Whitley, Robin Holloway, Michael Berkeley and Sally Beamish among others.
Joseph Middleton was the first, and to date only accompanist to win the Royal Philharmonic Society’s Young Artist Award, the UKs most prestigious award to be bestowed upon a musician.
The Shakespeare in Song Composition Competition and Fischer Fund Prize
The London Song Festival in collaboration with the Shakespeare in Music Festival shakespeareinmusic.org are proud to announce the inaugural Shakespeare in Song Composition Competition and Fischer Fund Prize.
This competition is open to composers aged 32 and under, who are invited to submit a song for voice and piano (any voice-type), on any text written or inspired by Shakespeare. The complete song should be no more than six minutes long.
The winner will be awarded a cash prize of £250 (The Fischer Fund Prize), and two guaranteed performances of the winning song: the premiere at the Shakespeare in Music Festival in Stratford upon Avon on 23 April 2026 (Shakespeare’s birthday), and a second performance at the London Song Festival in autumn 2026. One of these performances will also incorporate a formal award presentation.
Composers are asked to send their scores by email to londonsongfestivaladmn@gmail.com no later than Monday 1 December 2025. The winner will be announced online and on social media on Monday 15 December 2025. The judging panel will consist of a representative from each of the Festivals.