Composer Andrew Lloyd Webber will be honoured for his work and support of music education at the Classic Brit Awards.
The theatre impresario – who supports emerging artists and music education through his Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation – will be presented with the Special Recognition Award for Musical Theatre & Education at the ceremony later this month.
His music will also be celebrated to mark his 70th birthday in March.
Lord Lloyd Webber said: “Now that I am 70 I look back and think how lucky I have been.
“You are very lucky if you know what you want to do in life. I am doubly lucky that I not only have made a living out of my passion but a hugely rewarding one.
“I hope through my Foundation that I am able to give something back to the profession that has been so good to me.
“I am a passionate believer in the importance of the arts in schools, particularly music, which transcends all languages, shades of politics, race and creeds. In our increasingly dangerous and fractured world, the arts have never been as vital as they are today and they should be free.”
Since 2010, the Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation has awarded more than £19 million to support up-and-coming artists and the provision of music education, performing arts training, and heritage skills across the UK.
Lord Lloyd Webber has been vocal about cuts to music education in schools that are leaving many children without access to music lessons in the UK.
Calling the cuts a “national scandal,” he has often highlighted the value that music education brings to the nation.
Classic Brits co-chair Rebecca Allen said: “Our business is built on exceptional artists, without them we are nothing.
“It is our responsibility, our duty, to seek out and support these artists, and without music being supported in schools, our bloodline stops.
“The work Andrew Lloyd Webber and his team do to support music in schools is significant and we as an industry must acknowledge and applaud this, for without support like this in schools, our industry will falter.”
The Classic Brit Awards are returning for the first time in five years.
Other music stars taking part include Andrea Bocelli, Beatrice Rana, Sir Bryn Terfel, Katherine Jenkins and Tokio Myers, who will be named breakthrough artist of the year.
Dame Vera Lynn has already been announced as the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award.
The Classic Brit Awards are being hosted by musicians and Classic FM presenters Myleene Klass and Alexander Armstrong.
They will take place on June 13 at The Royal Albert Hall in partnership with Classic FM and ITV.