RNCM Honours Kate Pearson for Community Music Excellence!

Posted on Thursday 12 February 2026

This prestigious recognition celebrates Kate’s outstanding contribution to community-focussed music-making, most notably through her long-standing leadership of the RNCM Children’s Opera and her wider work as a composer, facilitator and educator. Kate’s practice exemplifies the values at the heart of community music: co-creation, inclusivity, collaboration and social impact.

Kate reflects on her work and this recognition in her own words:

“Over the last 16 years I have regularly worked with the RNCM, creating a new opera each year with a combined team of nearly 300 college students, primary school children and teachers who work together to explore a theme or story that becomes the basis for a new work. This project – the RNCM Children’s Opera – has become an integral part of the college’s musical life, programmed alongside the two ‘traditional’ operas that they stage each year.

In addition, in 2024 I led the RNCM’s first community opera, which was co-created with RNCM singers and instrumentalists, three community choirs, two schools, and a group of circus performers. At the heart of these pieces, and my work as a whole, is the formation of co-creative spaces, where everyone is able to share, explore and develop ideas and skills as they work together towards the creation of a final piece. The experience of working in this way has been shown to be life-changing for many of the project participants.

I’m delighted to be the recipient of an honorary fellowship of the RNCM in recognition of this work and my career as a composer, facilitator and educator. I identify primarily as a community musician, and it has been the case that the discipline of community music, based on creating spaces for growth rather than looking to develop specific musical skills, has sometimes been seen as less important than presentational music which requires years of training to perform or compose successfully.

At York, however, there has been a long and proud tradition of teaching community music to both post-graduate and under-graduate students, going back over 30 years and I’m really pleased to now be a part of teaching the next generation of community musicians. It is fantastic to have my work as a socially-focussed community composer recognised by the RNCM in this way.

For different reasons, live music is under threat in society today, and yet it is the social and human act of creating, making and sharing music that is vital, not just for the creation of a work of art itself, but for the development and sustenance of human beings – witness how we turned to music during the pandemic – and the RNCM Children’s Opera, alongside many other creative, community and educational endeavours, seeks to create this essential opportunity for children across the Manchester region.”

Kate’s honorary fellowship is a powerful acknowledgement of the artistic, educational and social value of her work. We are incredibly proud to have her involved in delivering our MA Community Music programme here in the School of Arts and Creative Technologies, where her experience continues to inspire students and shape future community music practice.

Our Head of Music, Richard Powell notes

"It's fantastic to see Kate's brilliant work with the RNCM over such a significant period of time being recognised in this way. The children's opera projects she has run with them have had such a profoundly positive impact for those involved with them, and they are indicative of the power of community music to change lives. We are very lucky to be able to benefit from Kate's expertise and experience through her contributions to the training of community musicians here at York. Many congratulations on your honorary fellowship, Kate!"

Congratulations, Kate — and thank you for the impact you make on communities, musicians and learners alike.

Learn more about School of Arts and Creative Technologies MA in Community Music: https://www.york.ac.uk/study/postgraduate-taught/courses/ma-community-music/

Read more about the recipients of the RNCM Honorary Fellowships: https://www.rncm.ac.uk/news/rncm-announces-recipients-of-2025-honorary-awards/