Novation HQ Queens Award

On the heels of Novation’s outstanding Queen’s Award for Innovation win in July, the Lord Lieutenant for Buckinghamshire presented the award to the Novation team in September. Job done? Not quite. A few select award winners are granted a further audience with royalty, and, in October, HRH The Duke of Gloucester dropped into the Novation offices for tea…

News of the award came back in April, and since then the morale boost to the company is spurring them on to even greater technological feats. The award was presented by HRH Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace in July of this year, when Rob Jenkins, Novation’s Technical director, accepted the award on behalf of Novation.

In September the actual award – and a scroll signed by both HRH Queen Elizabeth II and Gordon Brown, the current Prime Minister, was presented to the Novation team by ex-sound engineer and Lord-Lieutenant for Buckinghamshire, Sir Henry Aubrey-Foster, who dropped into the Novation offices for a presentational lunch.

“We arranged for him to join us for lunch at The Chequers Inn at Wooburn Common – a Focusrite favourite for company lunches,” said Phil Dudderidge, Focusrite & Novation’s Chairman. “Sir Henry received his knighthood for services to broadcasting, and started life at the BBC before becoming a pioneer in independent local radio, founding Fox FM and various other radio stations. He recounted his early studio experiences in Denmark Street, where he worked on recording sessions as a tape op – assisting on such classics as Baby Get Back by The Equals. Sir Henry recalled having to edit tapes with a razor blade, which is the last thing you expect from a man in his position!”

Proceedings were then brought to a close on the 20th of October, with a visit to Novation Headquarters by HRH The Duke Of Gloucester. Not all winners of this coveted award are selected for further visitation by Royalty. Consequently Buckinghamshire’s dignitaries arrived at the Novation offices in good time to receive the Duke in all the pomp and circumstance that is associated with a Royal visit. After shaking hands with the Mayor, local councillors and the Novation team, the Duke was then shown around the facilities, particularly the R&D deprtment, where the award-winning Automap technology was conceived, designed and implemented.

The story in full…

Every year a select group of British companies are recognised by HRH Queen Elisabeth II for their outstanding innovation and contribution to industry, and this year Novation, a division of Focusrite Audio Engineering Ltd., is amongst them.

Chosen for their ReMOTE SL musical keyboard controllers with Automap Universal technology ‐ an innovation that has radically enhanced the creative experience of electronic music creators ‐ Novation are proud to be recipients of the prestigious Queen’s Award for Innovation.

Novation has a history of innovation in electronic musical instruments, and this prestigious award acknowledges an outstanding achievement by the company, placing it as the leading brand of keyboard controllers.

Rob Jenkins, Novation’s technical director, was presented with the award by HRH Queen Elisabeth II at Buckingham Palace. He said: “Picking up the award from Buckingham Palace was everything you would expect it to be. Her Majesty showed great interest in our achievements, even offering some insightful thoughts on the implications of democratising music production. It was a proud moment ‐ not just for the Automap development team, but also for the whole company. And we’re already looking ahead at where we can further innovate in the field of music technology!”

Phil Dudderidge, Focusrite & Novation’s Chairman, added: “Naturally we’re delighted to have won this award for Remote SL with Automap Universal software. We’ve always been proud of our Automap technology, and to be recognized in this way has given the whole company a morale boost that’s already spurring us on to even greater heights.”

“We are very pleased that the Queen's Award Office judges recognise the innovative nature of the products and appreciate the importance of innovation in the musical instrument (MI) industry.”