Saltzman Receives USC Honor

What do singer Marilyn Horne, jazz guitarist Lee Ritenour, and Oregon Bach Festival leader Royce Saltzman have in common?

All have been named Outstanding Alumnus of the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music. Saltzman, cofounder and executive director of the Oregon Bach Festival and emeritus professor of music at the University of Oregon, receives the 2004 USC award in ceremonies May 13 in Los Angeles.

Saltzman received his doctorate from USC just before joining the faculty of the University of Oregon in 1964. He cofounded the Oregon Bach Festival with Helmuth Rilling in 1970.

As part of the ceremonies, Saltzman will speak at the USC music school commencement Friday, May 14.

Saltzman was proposed for the award by Thomas Somerville, director of the Festival's master class, and William Dehning, chairperson of the USC department of choral music, an alumnus of USC and of the Oregon Bach Festival master class in conducting.

In addition to his Festival and university experience, the nominators cited Saltzman's accomplishments as cofounder and past president of the International Federation for Choral Music, past president of the American Choral Directors Association, and prominence as a civic leader in Eugene. Saltzman was presented with the "First Citizen" Award in 1997.

Internationally, he has received the Order of the Cross of Merit, Germany's highest cultural honor, and has served on the boards of music organizations in China, Israel, Venezuela, and Germany.

The 35th Oregon Bach Festival runs June 25-July 11 under Saltzman's leadership. Concerts include the St. Matthew Passion, Mass in B Minor, the Mozart Requiem, Mendelssohn's Elijah, and guest appearances by composer/conductor Krzysztof Penderecki, pianist Jeffrey Kahane, and singer Thomas Quasthoff.