Lynne Davis Firmin-Didot awarded the Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres

Lynne Davis Firmin-Didot, Ann & Dennis Ross Endowed Faculty of Distinction in Organ at Wichita State University, was awarded the Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters) from the Republic of France and its Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication, in January 2012. The official presentation ceremony was on December 19, 2012 at the city hall in Chartres, France, in the  presence of the Préfet (governor) of the Region of Eure-et Loir, Didier Martin, the Député-Maire of Chartres, Jean-Pierre Gorges, and the Bishop of the Diocese of Chartres, Michel Pansard.

Presenting the medal was Ambassador Bertrand Dufourcq, former president of the Association des Grandes Orgues de Chartres. Dufourcq is the son of Norbert Dufourcq, French musicologist, founder of Les Amis de l’Orgue, and organist of the Eglise St. Merry in Paris.

At an American reception given in her honor for receiving the French distinction of Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, Lynne Davis was presented with the seal of the City of Wichita, Kansas by Mayor Carl Brewer. The reception took place on February 2, 2013 at the Ambassador Hotel in Wichita.