Congratulations to Mrs K. Bray of Cheltenham, who won the MusicTeachers.co.uk's August Competition. The correct answers were:

The name of Alexandria Brown's recent Cala Records release is 'Five O'clock Foxtrot; the instruments recorded so far in the London Sound series are: horn, trombone, cello, double bass, violin and viola. Check out this month's exciting competition to win a 12-CD set of Stokowski recordings.

Competitions

The Royal College of Organists' Performer of the Year 2000 finals took place in Huddersfield and Manchester between 17 and 22 September. During the course of the week twelve finalists were whittled down to three, with the final taking place in Manchester's Bridgewater Hall. Respective performances with the BBC Philharmonic of Barber's Toccata Festiva and the Poulenc and Rheinberger concertos resulted in Clive Driskill-Smith (22) of Oxford coming first, Jonathan Scott (22) of Manchester, second, and Philip Rushworth (28) of Southwell, third.

Awards

For the first time in its 27 years, the Academy of Ancient Music has been awarded major project funding from the Arts Council of England. A National Touring Programme award of £27K will part-fund a six-concert UK tour in March 2001. Under the baton of associate conductor Paul Goodwin, the programme will feature the premiere of a new commission from David Bedford, Like a Strand of Scarlet. Since the Academy receives no regular public funding, this is a significant boost.

A similar award, of £37K, has also been given to the British Music Information Centre for its Cutting Edge Initiative, which brings four programmes played by four ensembles appearing in twelve concerts overall, from November 2000 to May 2001. Each concert programme has been planned by a composer associated with New Voices, a profile-raising initiative by the BMIC for young composers, and will contain at least twelve new works that offer a cross-section of the many stylistic approaches adopted by today's composers.

The Arts Council of England has given itself three months to find fifteen pioneers to share a £1.2 million funding programme, financed from its grant-in-aid, rather than Lottery income. The Breakthrough Programme is to fund innovative and creative examples of arts practice. The critical areas are familiar: innovation, education, diversity (in respect of race and disability) and social inclusion. Rewards will come in the shape of grants ranging from £20K to £200K to organisations nominated by the Arts Council. Winners will be announced at the end of November.

Entries are invited for the E T Bryant Memorial Prize, to be awarded jointly by the Music Libraries Trust and the International Association of Music Libraries. The prize is awarded for the most significant contribution to the literature of music librarianship. Students of library and information science, and those in their first five years of librarianship should apply by 1 December 2000. Further information is available from www.music.ox.ac/iaml/bryant.html.

Publishers

Ameurope Music Publishers Ltd are looking for composers with a good musical education to work on two specific products of their own. For further information, please contact them at ameurope@hotmail.com, writing in the subject line "Composers", or by snail mail at: Ameurope Music Publishers Ltd/ Apartado de Correos, 365/08190 - Sant Cugat del Vallés/(Barcelona) Spain.

The Academy of Ancient Music Society has received enough subscriptions for it to establish a regular London presence with its own season at St John's Smith Square. The first concert takes place there on 29 November this year. Further details of the Society are available from the Academy's website, www.aam.co.uk.

Courses

Fred McCormick has informed us of several courses on Irish music that are being planned for the Institute of Continuing Education at Liverpool University, which are concerned with music history, rather than instrumental tuition. These are:

The Making of Irish Music: Ten weeks from Monday 2nd October 2000, from 7 to 9pm, at the Centre for Continuing Education, 126 Mount Pleasant, Liverpool. Tel.: 0151 794 6900/6952 for further information. Course code 00L V004-517. Students can either enrol in advance or just turn up on the night. Music, song and dance are part of the success story of contemporary Ireland: From concert hall to session pub, from street busker to record studio, the many forms of Irish entertainment mirror the changing character of Ireland, and its growth as a modern nation. What the music and the songs are about - and the part they play in Irish life - is what this course is about. No qualifications or previous knowledge are required, and all are welcome.

The Land of Liberty: Music and The Emigrant Irish: Ten weeks from Monday January 15, 2001 from 7 to 9pm, at the Centre for Continuing Education, 126 Mount Pleasant, Liverpool. Tel: 0151 794 6900/6952 for further information. Course code LV162 - 1023: The musical interactions between Ireland and Continental Europe give us a fascinating insight into the role of music in the formations of identity and ethnicity. Follow the pathways and mutations of Irish music with singer Fred McCormick - and look out for information on emigration closer to home. No qualifications or previous knowledge are required, and all are welcome.

Events

	Simon Preston

A new series of organ recitals begins at the Royal Festival Hall in London on October 19 with a concert to mark Deutsche Grammophon's issue of the complete Bach organ music by Simon Preston. Preceded by a pre-concert talk by Lynn Walker with Simon Preston, the concert starts at 7.30 pm and includes music by Bach, Alain, Widor, Jongen and Preston, who will also be signing discs after the performance. For further information, contact Victoria Bevan at the Royal Festival Hall on 020 7921 0824 or vbevan@rfh.org.uk

	Andrew Manze with the Academy

Following the success of last year's concert at the Ucheldre Centre, Holyhead, The Academy of Ancient Music is to undertake a new season of concerts from 20 October 2000-17 February 2001, each of which will be preceded by a day of workshops and which will feature works by JS Bach in this year which marks the 250th anniversary of the composer's death.
Supported by The Arts Council of Wales, this education programme will take the form of master-classes and illustrated talks on the works to be performed in concert. All three concerts will be directed from the violin by The AAM Associate Director, Andrew Manze.
The first of the three workshops is aimed at local students in sixth form and university education, as well as more mature participants from the Open University and the University of the Third Age. These workshops will run from 10.30am-4pm on the Friday before each Saturday concert, and will start with a general introduction to JS Bach and his works, given by the eminent writer/broadcaster Nicholas Anderson. In subsequent workshop sessions, participants will be given the opportunity to explore the characteristics of Baroque string, keyboard and wind instruments, as well as take part in master-class performances, which will also involve the Baroque orchestra from The University of Wales, Bangor.
More details may be had from Louise Johnson at Town House Publicity, Tel: 020 7226 7450, email: louise.johnson@townhousepublicity.co.uk. The Ucheldre Centre Box Office and workshop information number is 01407 763 361

Tuesday November 28 to Saturday December 16 sees an intensive celebration of American music at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester. Featuring fourteen works (including six UK premieres) by award-winning guest composer John Corigliano, works by Aaron Copland to celebrate the centenary of his birth, five performances of Stephen Sondheim's Into the Woods, and several concerts exploring music by other influential American composers, this should prove to be an interesting and important series of concerts. The Royal Northern College of Music's Events brochure has further details, for which readers can register online at www.rncm.ac.uk.

An international celebration of the music of JS Bach will take place in London on December 1 and St Albans on November 26, and December 2 and 10th. Presented by the Royal College of Organists, the British Institute of Organ Studies and the International Organ Festival Society, events include concerts by John Williams, Ludger Lohmann and St Albans Cathedral Choir, as well as master classes and lectures by eminent performers and scholars. Further details can be had from the Royal College of Organists or the St Albans International Organ Festival.