James Dillon, a composition professor in the University of Minnesota School of Music, has been honored by The Royal Philharmonic Society (RPS). Dillon was presented with the Large-Scale Composition Award for "Nine Rivers," which premiered in Glasgow, Scotland, last November by the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra.

With the award, Dillon became the most-celebrated winner in RPS musical award history, according to the organization's web site. The jury said Dillion's four-hour work was significant for the "sheer ambition and the consistency of creative thought sustaining it."

Dillon is considered one of Scotland's most internationally acclaimed composers and one of the world's leading modernists. Until the premiere of "Nine Rivers" in Glasgow, these nine pieces for orchestra, percussion group, voices and electronics had never before been presented as originally intended. The RPS jury remarked that, "This was an epic conceptual journey, two decades in the making, and an important personal voyage for its composer."

A special program devoted to the RPS Music Awards will be broadcast on BBC Radio 3 on Sunday, 2 to 4 p.m. For more information, go here.