A Scottish music icon, a groundbreaking jazz musician and a Tony Award winner will be honoured with honorary doctorates from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland this summer.

Set and costume designer Bunny Christie, musician, composer and educator Wynton Marsalis and pop legend Lulu will be recognised at RCS’s graduation on Thursday 3 July.

They’ll join around 300 students who will graduate across music, drama, dance, production, film and education at Scotland’s national conservatoire, one of the world’s top destinations to study the performing arts. In March, RCS retained its sixth place in the prestigious QS World University Rankings by Subject, the ninth time it has been placed in the top ten since the ranking was established in 2016.

Professor Jeffrey Sharkey, Principal of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, said: “Honorary doctorates are awarded to individuals who have made extraordinary contributions to their respective fields and our cultural landscape, and Bunny Christie, Lulu, and Wynton Marsalis exemplify this at the highest level.

“Bunny Christie’s groundbreaking set and costume designs have elevated theatrical storytelling, Lulu has redefined what it means to be a performer – from timeless hits to her versatility across music, stage and television – and Wynton Marsalis’s mastery and advocacy for jazz, classical and music education have cemented his legacy as one of the world’s great musical ambassadors.

“We’re looking forward to welcoming them to the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in July, where we’ll celebrate our graduating class of 2025.”

Bunny Christie OBE is a multi-award-winning set and costume designer whose creative vision has transformed the world’s most celebrated theatre productions. According to The Guardian, Bunny ‘doesn’t design stage sets. She creates worlds.’

With two Tony Awards and four Olivier Awards under her belt, Christie made history as the first woman to win the Olivier Award for Best Design and was also the first woman to receive the Evening Standard and Critics’ Circle Awards for Best Designer.

Born and raised in St Andrews, she has a long relationship with the National Theatre, designing in all its theatre spaces and devising shows at the NT Studio. Her work at the NT covers production and costume design for many of the classics and new plays.

One of her most celebrated designs, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, premiered at the National Theatre before transferring to the West End and Broadway, winning widespread acclaim, and completing UK, US and East Asian tours. She also devised a small-scale touring version of Curious Incident, giving many students their first experience of live theatre and supporting the teaching of drama in schools.

Recent projects include Tammy Faye and Company in London and New York, and Guys and Dolls and A Midsummer Night’s Dream at London’s Bridge Theatre.

Christie’s influence extends beyond individual productions – her work is showcased in the Museum of Broadway in New York and the V&A in London and Dundee. She’s also a passionate advocate for emerging designers, and she initiated the National Theatre Design Bursary, providing young talents with financial support and experience working on large-scale productions.

Commenting on her honorary doctorate, Bunny Christie said: “As a production designer, born in Scotland, I am delighted to accept an honorary doctorate in production from the world-renowned Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, which trains the young designers of the future who join the UK’s hugely successful and profitable, visual and creative industries.”

Glasgow-born Lulu has spent over sixty years in the spotlight with a career that is something to Shout about. From blasting on to the pop scene at 15 to being crowned a Eurovision winner, a Bond theme singer (The Man with the Golden Gun, 1974) and working with everyone from David Bowie, Tina Turner and Paul McCartney to Chaka Khan, Elton John and Take That, she’s still far from slowing down.

Transcending generations, Lulu’s impressive career of global success includes releasing 1967’s biggest-selling record in the US, To Sir with Love, and being one of the first pop artists to perform behind the Iron Curtain. Her talent doesn’t stop at just music. Last year, she received the award for Best Supporting Actress at the National Film Awards for her role in movie Arthur’s Whisky, one of several acting credits.

She’s still wowing audiences live on stage. In 2024, she completed a Glastonbury festival set as well as her sold-out Champagne for Lulu tour – her last ever – which was extended due to phenomenal demand. The Grammy Award-winner has a string of performances lined up this year, including Mighty Hoopla, Cheltenham Jazz Festival and HebCelt Festival in the Outer Hebrides.

Lulu launched her first ever podcast Turning Points in February, where she chats to famous faces – including John Legend, Boy George and Brian Cox – about the pivotal moments that have shaped their lives. She’s also recently launched her own charitable fund, Lulu’s Mental Health Trust and, later this year, she’ll release a memoir, which is set to see her at her most honest yet.

“I’m so honoured to be nominated for an honorary doctorate and I’m so excited to join students for their summer graduation,” said Lulu.

“The performing arts are so vital to our culture and the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland is a fabulous institution. I can’t wait to celebrate with everyone!”

Wynton Marsalis is an internationally acclaimed trumpeter, composer, bandleader, educator and a leading advocate of American culture, widely recognised as one of the most influential figures in jazz.

He is the world’s first jazz artist to perform and compose across the full jazz spectrum, from its New Orleans roots to bebop to modern jazz. By creating and performing an expansive range of new jazz and classical music for ensembles ranging from quartets to big bands, chamber music ensembles to symphony orchestras, tap dance to ballet, Marsalis has expanded the vocabulary for jazz and created a vital body of work that places him among the world’s finest musicians and composers.

As Managing and Artistic Director of Jazz at Lincoln Center, he has cultivated an institution that uplifts jazz as an essential – and distinctly American – art form. Under Marsalis’ direction, Jazz at Lincoln Center opened Frederick P. Rose Hall in 2004, the world’s first performance, broadcast and education facility dedicated to jazz.

Beyond performance and artistic leadership, Marsalis has devoted his career to music education, mentoring generations of musicians and leading initiatives to bring jazz to global audiences. His impact has been recognised with numerous honours, including the National Medal of Arts, France’s Chevalier of the Legion of Honour, and Japan’s Praemium Imperiale.

Marsalis believes music has the power to elevate our quality of life and the quality of human engagement for individuals, social networks and cultural institutions throughout the world.

Three ceremonies will take place on Thursday 3 July which will be livestreamed on the RCS graduation website.

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Lulu photography credit: Paul Cox

Wynton Marsalis photography credit: Gilberto Tadday