Rochester, NY - When Eastman School of Music Professor of Organ Hans
Davidsson visits the capital city of his native Sweden tomorrow, the trip will
entail something a bit more than his usual work- and family-related activities.
Davidsson's presence at the Royal Palace in Stockholm has been requested by
His Majesty the King of Sweden, Carl XVI Gustaf, to be awarded The King's Medal
-- the highest recognition that a Swedish citizen can receive.
The Medal is being awarded "for significant achievements in musicology
(and music), primarily in the fields of pipe-organ research and organ
education," according to Sven-Olof Hedengren, Vice Chancellor of the Royal Swedish
Orders at The Royal Court. Davidsson, who has been on the Eastman faculty since
2001, and is the founder, artistic and research director of the Göteborg Organ
Art Center (GOArt) at Göteborg University, an international interdisciplinary
center for research in historical organ building and performance practice. The
Medal recognizes Davidsson's more than 15 years of work with GOArt, through
which was generated the reconstruction and building of a unique 17th century
organ in North German style, among many others. The work also resulted in the
Göteborg International Organ Academy.
Davidsson was "surprised, honored and thrilled" to be receiving the
King's Medal - usually given as a lifetime achievement award, with recipients
chosen by the King himself. Approximately 10 people receive this award annually,
and it seemingly never has gone to someone in the field of music and
musicology.
"The process and projects of GOArt would have been impossible to develop
without the participation and support from a large group of stellar musicians,
scholars, scientists and builders from more than 20 countries" says
Davidsson. "The award indeed recognizes the work and invaluable contributions of all
of them."
Davidsson is a key figure in the Eastman Rochester Organ Initiative
(EROI), the Eastman School of Music's 10-year plan to assemble a collection of new
and historic organs unparalleled in North America. With an eye toward the
future, Davidsson says "it is my hope that we at Eastman will be able to
establish a global network with pipe organ centers around the world of the kind that
was established in Goteborg, and that EROI will make Rochester, New York, the
leading center for organ research and education in the United States." For
more information on the Eastman School of Music, visit www.rochester.edu/Eastman
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January 28, 2004
Amy Blum
