Beatles producer Sir George Martin will be the first recipient of an honorary doctorate from Sweden's Lund University and the Malmö Academy of Music, the university has announced.
The honor will be presented in a traditional ceremony at the university May 28. A welcoming ceremony, which will include a lecture held by Martin as well as performances of music from his career, concentrating on his work with the Beatles, will be held by the Malmö Academy of Music and the Faculty of Fine and Performing Arts May 26 at the Palladium in Malmö.
"George Martin's importance as a producer, composer, arranger, conductor and musician cannot be overstated. He has been active as a music producer for more than 50 years and is most well-known as the producer for producing the recordings of The Beatles in the Abbey Road studios of London. Martin has also produced music for Cilla Black, Shirley Bassey, Ella Fitzgerald, Gerry & the Pacemakers, Billy J. Kramer, Elton John, Jeff Beck and Celine Dion among others," the university said in announcing the honor to Martin.
In a statement, Martin said, “These days many people in England are aware of Skåne because of the TV series 'Wallander,' which we receive in the UK and which I personally think is great. It is nice to catch glimpses of places that I know. I think I came to Lund as far back as 1993 while I was doing a conducting tour of Sweden, but I got to know it better when I came here to give a talk about the 'Sgt. Pepper' album to a crowd of University students in 1999. The hall seemed to be full to bursting. I think there about 900 students with me. So you can imagine my delight when I heard that the University had decided to offer me an honorary degree.
"This is such a great honor for me and I am thrilled to be able to come to receive it. Lund is a wonderful place and I always enjoy coming here. A couple of years ago, I opened an important Master programme at the Malmö Academy of Music in Film Composition, situated in Ystad, which of course is also part of Lund University. I was impressed with the enthusiasm and energy of the music students that I met. What is more, everyone was so friendly! Thank you Lund, for inviting my wife and me to come
here again. We love it.”
In 1988, Sir George Martin was appointed Commander of the British Empire (CBE) by the Queen
for his services to the music industry. He also received an honorary doctorate of music from Boston's Berklee College of Music. In July 1992, he was awarded an honorary degree of master of arts at Salford University, England.
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Comments
Congratulations on yet another well-deserved award, Sir George, CBE!
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