RCO Medal awarded to seven distinguished musicians

The Royal College of Organists is to recognise the achievements of seven distinguished musicians, composers and scholars by awarding them its highest honour, the RCO Medal.

The honorands will receive the RCO Medal at the College’s Conferment of Diplomas at Southwark Cathedral on Saturday 12 March, 2022.

The Medal of the Royal College of Organists (‘The RCO Medal’) recognises distinguished achievement in one or more of the following areas relating to organ and choral music: performance, teaching, scholarship, composition, organ-building, conducting, administration, and philanthropy; it is also available to recognise specific service to the College.

With the College’s 2021 Conferment event having been postponed due to the pandemic, the 2022 event will feature presentations to both the 2021 and 2022 RCO Medal honorands.

Held over from 2021, the RCO Medal will be awarded to:
Prof. Jon Laukvik, in recognition of distinguished achievement as an organist, pedagogue, and composer;
Mr Gareth Malone OBE, in recognition of distinguished achievement as a choral conductor and animateur; and
Prof. Francis Pott, in recognition of distinguished achievement in organ and choral composition.

And for 2022, the RCO Medal will be awarded to:
Dr Kevin Bowyer, in recognition of distinguished achievement in organ performance and scholarship;
Prof. Kimberly Marshall, in recognition of distinguished achievement in organ performance and scholarship;
Ms Margaret Phillips, in recognition of distinguished achievement in organ performance and pedagogy; and
Prof. Kerala J. Snyder, in recognition of distinguished achievement in scholarship relating to organ and church music.

RCO President Gerard Brooks said: “The honorands have enjoyed international acclaim in their respective fields for many years and it is an honour for the College to acknowledge their many achievements by awarding them the RCO Medal.

“We are very much looking forward to recommencing our Conferment Ceremony at Southwark Cathedral in March as a chance to gather together once more and celebrate such endeavours alongside the achievements of the College members who have been successful in recent diploma and certificate examinations.”