Björn Schmelzer appointed Chevalier in the French Order of Arts and Letters!

We are delighted to announce that Björn Schmelzer, artistic director of the unconventional Belgian music ensemble Graindelavoix, is being made a knight by the French Ministry of Culture. Chevalier dans l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres is one of France's most important cultural honors. The ceremony takes place on March 17 at the French embassy in Brussels. In the evening, Schmelzer & Graindelavoix perform at BOZAR for the Klarafestival the Belgian premiere of their new project Rolling Stone, an idiosyncratic interpretation of the legendary Earthquake Mass by French polyphonist Antoine Brumel, inspired by both the current situation and Bruegel's grisailles. Schmelzer & Graindelavoix were in residence at the Fondation Royaumont near Paris for 5 years and performed on major French stages, including the cour d'honneur in Avignon (in collaboration with Rosas). Björn Schmelzer is greatly honored by this recognition from France. He recalls that more than 20 years ago he borrowed the name graindelavoix from an essay by French writer and philosopher Roland Barthes and that French thought remains a constant source of inspiration for his work and artistic projects. He views this not only as recognition for himself, but for the entire Graindelavoix team, for the musicians and artistic collaborators, sound designer and production team.