Eligibility
The Zorn Trials are open to musicians aged sixteen and older. Few receive the silver badge on their first try, however. Notable exceptions include Marie Stensby (1975), Åsa Jinder (1979), and Jeanette Eriksson (2002), all of whom became riksspelmän at age sixteen.
Only players of instruments regarded as "traditional" may play for the Zorn Jury. There is no official list of traditional instruments, however. Musicians who apply for a time slot before the Jury are simply rejected if they list an instrument that the adjudicators regard as non-traditional. Instruments that have been accepted in the past include: fiddle, chromatic nyckelharpa, silverbasharpa, kontrabasharpa, clarinet, durspel, harmonica, kulning, spilåpipa, härjedalspipa, träskofiol, travers, hummel, näverlapp, cow horn, näverlur, and Swedish bagpipes. It is permissible to play multiple instruments for the Jury.
There are no restrictions with regard to nationality. Currently, four non-Swedes hold the title: Kristian Daugaard Madsen (Denmark, 1982), Oline Bakkom-Härdelin (Norway, 1996), Emma Reid (England, 2006), and David Kaminsky (USA, 2007).
Musicians who are already riksspelmän are not eligible to participate in the Zorn Trials.
Read more about this topic: Riksspelman