Federal Cross of Merit for Nils Landgren

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Nils Landgren, the famous jazz pausonist and HfMT professor, was awarded the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany by the German ambassador in Stockholm on June 13.

Nils Landgren has been a professor at the Hamburg University of Music and Drama since 2006. Just last fall, students in the Dr. Langner Jazzmaster program performed alongside Nils Landgren at the Elbphilharmonie.

For Nils Landgren, a native of Sweden, receiving the Federal Cross of Merit came as a huge surprise. “To be honest, when the ambassador called me, I started laughing,” Landgren said ahead of the award ceremony. “I just couldn’t believe it. I thought it was a joke. But now I’m happy, proud, and overwhelmed. Something like this doesn’t happen to an old Swede very often.”

In awarding the Federal Cross of Merit, Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier specifically recognized Landgren’s role in cultural exchange between Germany and Scandinavia, his contribution to raising the profile of German music in Sweden, and his wide-ranging commitment to promoting young emerging artists from Germany and Scandinavia.

Landgren is considered one of the best-known and most respected jazz musicians in the world. Among other roles, he served as artistic director of the Berlin Jazz Festival and has been artistic director of JazzBaltica for the past seven years.