Today sees the launch of the Gramophone Music In The Community award, in association with The Times newspaper and Making Music (the umbrella body for the UK's community music organisations). The prize is one of only two Gramophone Awards open to a public vote and is designed to draw attention to the great work being done by the UK's voluntary music sector.

Last year the award focussed on choral leaders. Now we turn our attention to orchestras, with the criteria again being all to do with those who change lives to an inspiring extent through music‚ and nothing to do with playing standards.

A panel of experts in the field put together a list of candidates, which was then whittled down to a shortlist of five by Gramophone and The Times. It consists of the British Police Symphony Orchestra, the Cardiff County and Vale of Glamorgan Youth Orchestra, the Cobweb Orchestra, the East London Late Starters Orchestra and the Really Terrible Orchestra. In today's newspaper, Richard Morrison introduces the five and invites readers to vote on The Times website (registration required). You can read that article here. And check The Times again for the result on the day of the awards ceremony, October 6.