Medal of honour for Coenie de Villiers

SAMRO Board member Coenie de Villiers is being honoured by the South African Academy for Science and Arts, which, in commemoration of its centenary year, will bestow a special centenary medal on the popular musician for his contribution to Afrikaans music.

De Villiers is not only being recognised as an outstanding singer, but also as the creator of a rich treasure chest of new, original Afrikaans songs. This latest honour comes hot on the heels of his triumph at the 2009 South African Music Awards, where his latest album, ‘Weerlig oor die See’ (Lightning over the Ocean), received the SAMA for Best Contemporary Afrikaans Album.

The latest accolades cement De Villiers’ status as one of the icons of the South African music industry. He serves in a non-executive capacity on the Board of SAMRO.

The board of the Academy for Science and Arts (known in Afrikaans as the Akademie vir Wetenskap en Kuns) is awarding centenary medals to 25 South Africans they have singled out as being exceptional and pioneering in their chosen field. The arts and culture medal recipients who will be honoured along with De Villiers at the University of the Free State on 27 June 2009 include Anton Goosen, David Kramer, Adam Smal, Braam de Vries, Al Debbo and Fanus Rautenbach.