Saltzman, H Royce

From Lane Co Oregon

ROYCE SALTZMAN cofounded the Oregon Bach Festival along with Helmuth Rilling in 1970. Under Saltzman's leadership, the Festival grew into one of the premiere classical music festivals in the United States, drawing an annual audience of 35,000, with visitors from almost every state and overseas.

Following the 2007 Festival, Saltzman stepped aside from administration to focus his efforts on completing the $10 million endowment that bears his name. He was succeeded by Dr. John Evans.

Saltzman has earned a bachelor's degree from Goshen College, a master's degree from Northwestern University, and a doctorate from the University of Southern California.

A University of Oregon faculty member since 1964, he served as associate dean of the School of Music for twelve years.

From 1979 to 1981 he was national president of the American Choral Directors Association; from 1985 to 1993 was president of the International Federation for Choral Music, a worldwide organization that includes national organizations, choirs, and conductors in more than seventy countries.

He has served on five panels of the National Endowment for the Arts. He is a member of the Honorary Committee of Zimriya, the world Assembly of Choirs in Israel; was honorary advisor to the China International Choral Festival in Beijing; is currently a member of the Advisory Board, Academia Bach de Venezuela in Caracas; and a member of the Board of Directors, Internationale Bachakademie-Stuttgart.

In 1994 he received the Order of the Cross of Merit, Germany's highest political-cultural award. Among his numerous awards and citations are the University of Oregon’s Distinguished Service Award, distinguished alumni awards from Goshen, Northwestern University, and USC's Thornton School of Music, and Eugene's First Citizen award.