Wigmore Hall director becomes the first Irish person to receive Royal Philharmonic Society Honorary Membership in the award’s 200-year history
John Gilhooly CBE, Artistic and Executive Director of Wigmore Hall in London, has been awarded Honorary Membership of the Royal Philharmonic Society — one of the most distinguished honours in classical music — becoming the first Irish person to receive the accolade in its two-century history.
The award was presented at a special concert with soprano Lise Davidsen, marking exactly 125 years since Wigmore Hall first opened its doors on the same date in 1901. Gilhooly received the honour from HRH the Duke of Kent, patron of the venue. The occasion also coincided with the 200th anniversary of the award itself, first presented in 1826 to composer Carl Maria von Weber.
Born in Castleconnell, County Limerick in 1973, Gilhooly studied History and Political Science at University College Dublin before training as a singer under celebrated Irish soprano Veronica Dunne at the DIT Conservatoire of Music and the Leinster School of Music. He was appointed Artistic and Executive Director of Wigmore Hall in 2005 and has since led one of the most celebrated periods in the venue’s history, growing its programme to more than 500 concerts a year — the largest classical music offering in the UK.
Reflecting on the honour, Gilhooly said it carried particular personal significance.
“To be the first Irish person to receive this honour in its 200-year history is genuinely humbling and reflects on all of the remarkable Irish musicians working today whose talent is a reminder of how much Ireland continues to give the world of music.”
The RPS citation, read by chief executive James Murphy, praised Gilhooly’s tenure as “a truly golden chapter” in the Hall’s history, noting his championing of young artists, digital innovation and his leadership of the Society itself as chairman from 2010 to 2024.
Honorary Membership of the Royal Philharmonic Society places Gilhooly in distinguished company. Previous recipients include composers Brahms, Stravinsky, Tchaikovsky, Verdi and Wagner, cellist Pablo Casals, pianist Arthur Rubinstein, and more recently mezzo-soprano Dame Janet Baker, violinist Yehudi Menuhin and composer Stephen Sondheim. The Society is perhaps best known for having commissioned Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony.
Gilhooly has maintained strong ties with Ireland throughout his career. A partnership between Wigmore Hall and the Royal Irish Academy of Music, announced earlier this year as the Wigmore Series Dublin, will bring world-class artists to Irish audiences on an annual basis.
His contribution to music has been recognised across Europe through honours including the Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art, the German Order of Merit and the Order of the White Rose of Finland. In the UK, he was appointed OBE in 2013 and advanced to CBE in 2022 for services to music.