Among the many awards and recognitions Sigmund has received throughout his career – including the Royal Norwegian St. Olav order – is the honorary NOPA membership. This accolade was given to Sigmund in 2002.
NOPA is the Norwegian trade union for composers and lyricists. They currently have 902 members, but only six honorary members; Sigurd Jansen (1995), Kjell Karlsen (2001), Lill Øyen (2001), Bendik Hofseth (2008), Ragnar Bjerkreim (2014) – and of course, Sigmund. He was also a member of NOPAs board of directors between 1986 and 1999.
The honorary membership is given to “a person who has made a significant contribution for Norwegian composers and lyricists” and has only been awarded to members 11 times since NOPAs foundation in 1937.
