University News Last updated 03 July
The 2026 Mike Gibbs Prize was held at RBC’s Eastside Jazz Club on Monday 15 June and featured 10 student compositions performed by the RBC Jazz Orchestra.
The event was hosted by Jazz Lecturer Ed Puddick while the band was directed by two guest big band conducting students from the Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts (HfMDK). Having spent a week leading rehearsals, HJfMDK students Bouke Ainsing and Stephan Eichhorn conducted five pieces each for the concert and worked closely with our student composers and members of the RBC Jazz Orchestra to create a polished performance.
The Mike Gibbs Prize is named in honour of Michael Gibbs. A former teacher at the Conservatoire in the early 2000s, Gibbs is considered to be one of the greatest living jazz composers and was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by BCU in November 2025. The Michael Gibbs Collection is held as part of BCU’s Cultural Collections and Archives.
This year’s Prize was adjudicated by jazz trumpet legend Henry Lowther. Henry played alongside Gibbs in groups led by John Dankworth in the 1960s and 70s and was a member of the Mike Gibbs Band when it made its debut at Lancaster University in 1969.
Their careers have been closely linked as they continued to work together over the following five decades. This made Henry, also a composer and bandleader in his own right, particularly well placed to adjudicate this year’s Prize on behalf of Michael Gibbs.
Following a short deliberation at the conclusion of the concert, BMus Jazz piano student Nathan Thomas was announced as the winner of the 2026 Mike Gibbs Prize for his piece, Friday. Nathan is in his final year and will be graduating this summer.
Nathan said: “Winning the Mike Gibbs Prize was a tremendous honour. The standard of the competition was incredibly high. All the other finalists were such talented musicians, so receiving the award meant a great deal to me.
“It’s given me even more motivation to keep developing as an arranger and composer, and I’m excited to build on this achievement by continuing to write and arrange music for many years to come.”
Lecturer in Jazz Ed Puddick said: “Congratulations to Nathan and all the student composers – the standard was very high from everyone. It has been great to have Bouke and Stephan with us this week, and the concert was a fantastic way to end the academic year. There were so many excellent pieces submitted for this year’s Prize, but Nathan is a worthy winner, and we wish him the very best of luck with the next phase of his career.”