Yesterday evening Reijo Kiilunen, the founder and long-time director of the Ondine record label, was decorated with a golden badge of honour for his "particularly meritorious work in the field of orchestral activities and activities for the benefit of orchestral music". The award was presented by Iiris Lehtonen and Pekka Seppänen from the Association of Finnish Symphony Orchestra, SUOSIO.
Before his retirement in the Spring of 2024, Reijo Kiilunen as the Executive Producer of Ondine released over 800 albums of music from which more than one third were featuring Finnish symphony and chamber orchestras.
Previous recipients to this award have included composer Aulis Sallinen and conductor Hannu Lintu. This year, as the Association of Finnish Symphony Orchestra is celebrating its 60th anniversary, the award was exceptionally given to four people: alongside Reijo Kiilunen also Magnus Lindberg, Susanna Mälkki and Esa-Pekka Salonen were recipients to this special award.