The Song Detectorists has won silver in the Music Documentary category of the New York Festivals Radio 2026 Awards.

Recording the Song Detectorists in Northamptonshire Archives with Matthew Bannister and archivist Sarah Bridges. Photo credit: Natalie Steed

The Song Detectorists is a BBC Radio 3 series inspired by the research project Music, Heritage, Place: Unlocking the Musical Collections of England’s County Record Offices, led by Stephen Rose at Royal Holloway. Produced by Natalie Steed and presented by Matthew Bannister, the series follows the project team as they discover music from past centuries in local archives. These discoveries are then brought to life for the 21st century in performances by Nancy Kerr and the Melrose Quartet.

The New York Festivals jury panel considered Episode 1 set in Norfolk, Episode 5 in Newcastle, plus Episode 10 which uncovers the political ballad ‘Lay by your reason’ from Bedfordshire and revisits Norfolk for Stephen Rose’s recording of Henry Purcell’s Almand in G minor in the version discovered there.

Stephen Rose said:

‘All of us in the Music, Heritage, Place team are thrilled that the Song Detectorists has been recognised by this international award. Thanks to the amazing work of our producer Natalie Steed, the series shows how music can connect listeners to a sense of place and to the stories of past generations.’

Nancy Kerr of Newcastle University said:

‘I’m delighted by this award! It was an honour to be commissioned - and then re-commissioned – to create the musical performances for this impactful series, and to work with my Quartet colleagues and the brilliant Natalie, to set these musical gems in their geographical and historical spaces for the listener.’

Funded by the Arts & Humanities Research Council, the project Music, Heritage, Place has uncovered almost one thousand books of music in local archives across England, including two major new Purcell discoveries. Much of this musical heritage was previously unknown and is changing our understanding of music-making from the 16th to the mid-19th centuries.