I’m very happy to share that I’m one of the recipients of the Carl Nielsen Prize 2025, one of Denmark’s major music awards.
This is the first time the prize has been awarded to an accordionist, which makes it especially meaningful to me and, I hope, to the wider accordion community.
Over the years I’ve worked closely with Carl Nielsen’s music, arranging and transcribing several of his works for the accordion. These projects include new versions for the Danish Chamber Players and the MYTHOS accordion duo, with pieces such as Helios Overture, Saga-Drøm, the Aladdin Suite, and a selection of piano works. Exploring how Nielsen’s music can live in these formats has been both challenging and rewarding.
Thank you to the Carl Nielsen and Anne Marie Carl-Nielsen Foundation, and to the composers, collaborators, and audiences I’ve been lucky to work with along the way.
The prize is an encouraging sign of the accordion’s place in today’s music-making, and I’m looking forward to continuing this work. Some years ago, MYTHOS released a recording of my duo arrangement of Helios Overture, which is available on all major platforms.
As part of the celebration, there will be a prize ceremony and concert on October 24, where I will perform as soloist with the Odense Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Brad Lubman. I’m very much looking forward to performing with Brad again, following our first collaboration in 2014 for the Danish premiere of Christian Winther Christensen’s Double Concerto for Cello and Accordion with the Danish National Symphony.
A huge congrats as well to fellow recipients composers Kirstine Lindemann, Signe Lykke, and Bára Gísladóttir; and fellow musicians Michala Petri and Stephen Milling.





