Arts organizations in the UK are about to see a significant drop in their funding due to lagging sales of lottery tickets.

The story is in a publication entitled "Arts Professional", and you can read it here.

Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts has named its first female President.
(from a press release--photo by Haghi Sukalic)

Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts has appointed Debora L. Spar, a distinguished academic leader and former Harvard Business School professor, as its next President and Chief Executive Officer, Board Chairman Katherine Farley announced today.

Spar, 53, will become Lincoln Center’s first female president. She will call upon a unique range of expertise in business, the arts and fundraising to steer the institution forward as it builds on its mission to bring the best of the performing arts to the broadest possible audience, and embarks upon a comprehensive renovation of David Geffen Hall. The re-imagination of the new hall will represent the next and final piece of the recently completed, $1.2 billion transformation of the Lincoln Center campus.


Spar was elected President of Barnard College in July 2008, and her nearly nine-year tenure at the illustrious institution is widely recognized for stimulating substantial academic and financial growth, and establishing a renewed commitment to the arts.


“Debora's vision and experience in the arts, education, and business make her the ideal choice to lead Lincoln Center at this exciting time,” said Farley, Board Chairman of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. “She has been a transformative President at Barnard College, expanding their arts curriculum, successfully completing major construction projects and galvanizing financial support.”

The St. Louis Symphony ended fiscal 2016 with revenues almost $2 millio0n higher than the previous year.  In addition, attendance at concerts was up despite the fact that there were fewer concerts last season.

The St. Louis Business Journal reports here.

The Cecil Aronowitz International Viola Competition 2017 is seeking applicants (the following is from a press release).

Young violists from around the world are being encouraged to apply for an international competition taking place next year in Birmingham, UK.
 
The second Cecil Aronowitz International Viola Competition will also be the first major competition to take place in Birmingham Conservatoire’s new £57 million home, currently under construction in the Eastside region of the City.
 
Hosted in conjunction with the British Viola Society and Birmingham Music Service, the competition is named after acclaimed South African violist, Cecil Aronowitz.
 
As well as being a leading chamber musician and long-term collaborator with Benjamin Britten, Cecil was a founding member of the Melos Ensemble and taught at both the Royal College of Music and, later, at the Royal Northern College of Music.
 
The Cecil Aronowitz International Viola Competition is open to all violists from anywhere in the world who will be aged 21 or under when the live rounds take place between Saturday 18 November and Friday 24 November next year.
 
Various prizes are on offer, with the overall winner being awarded the Cecil Aronowitz Prize of £5,000, a recording contract with Champs Hill Records and several high profile recitals as part of Birmingham Conservatoire’s Concert Series.

Full details on how to apply for the Cecil Aronowitz International Viola Competition 2017 can be found on the Birmingham Conservatoire website.

The Paul Hamlyn Foundation--an English foundation that supports greater access to the arts--has made cash awards to three composers (from Slipped Disc):

Daniel Kidane (born 1986) is a leading young concert composer from London, whose work ranges from solo pieces to large orchestral works. His work focuses on themes of multi-cultural and multi-linguistic exchanges and how these shape our daily interactions. Among Kidane’s most notable compositions are Foreign Tongues (2015), which re-envisaged the setup of the string quartet, and Pulsing(2016), which explored the idea of migration through it energetic instrumental passages and vocal interludes.
Heather Leigh (born 1976) is a West Virginian, Texas raised composer and singer, based in Glasgow. She is renowned for her spontaneous composition and for redefining the pedal steel guitar. As a solo artist, she explores themes relating to the representation of women, sexuality and vulnerability, as showcased on her internationally acclaimed album, I Abused Animal (2015). She has an extensive catalogue of collaborative work, which in recent years has focused on her duo with German saxophonist Peter Brötzmann as heard on their album, Ears Are Filled With Wonder (2016).
Ailís Ní Ríain (born 1974) is a contemporary classical composer and published stage writer currently based in Yorkshire. From acoustic composition to music installations and music-theatre, her work aims to challenge, provoke and engage with new audiences in diverse spaces. Among Ní Ríain’s most recent compositions is Skloniŝte (2015), a solo accordion and video homage to the people who survived the Siege of Sarajevo 1992-1996. She has also completed notable commissions for the Royal Irish Academy of Music, The Bronte Society and Feelgood Productions with new commissions lined up for Spitalfields Festival and Manchester Opera Project.

Each composer received 50,000 pounds.

Tchaikovsky's famous Piano Concerto no. 1 got its premiere not in Russia, but in Boston.

Here's a nice story regarding how the whole episode came to be.