Cecilia Rydinger
Cecilia Rydinger is a professor of orchestral conducting at the Department of Composition, Conducting, and Music Theory at KMH. She is active in both academia and the professional music world, with a distinguished career as a conductor, educator, and researcher.
About the researcher
Cecilia Rydinger studied at KMH during the 1980s, completing programmes in church music, choral conducting, and orchestral conducting. She taught orchestral conducting at KMH from 1998 to 2012 and served as the university’s Vice-Chancellor and Head of Administration from 2012 to 2019. She currently oversees the choral and orchestral conducting programmes and chairs KMH’s Academic Appointments Committee.
Alongside her academic role, Cecilia Rydinger has been the conductor and artistic director of the male choir Orphei Drängar in Uppsala since 2008. She also works as a freelance conductor, collaborating regularly with professional choral and orchestral institutions as well as the amateur music scene, with a particular commitment to youth orchestras.
Research description
Cecilia Rydinger’s research focuses on choral conducting and choral leadership, with a particular emphasis on the artistic and pedagogical legacy of Professor Eric Ericson. Her work explores the conductor’s role in musical interaction, aiming to advance choral artistry and artistic leadership.
Research Project
Between 2022 and 2024, Cecilia Rydinger is leading a research project at KMH on choral conductor Eric Ericson, titled "Eric Ericson – Musical Knowledge Development." The project is conducted in collaboration with Senior Lecturer Pia Bygdéus (Linnaeus University and Karlstad University/Ingesund School of Music) and Senior Lecturer/Vice-Chancellor Per-Henrik Holgersson (KMH) and is funded by the Marcus and Amalia Wallenberg Memorial Fund.
The project aims to deepen the understanding of Ericson’s pedagogical and artistic methodologies and their significance for the development of choral music. The research will result in several conference presentations and, in 2025, a scholarly article and a book: "Eric Ericson – The Artistic Educator and the Pedagogical Artist."