The American Academy of Arts and Letters has announced the eighteen recipients of this year’s awards in music, which total $190,000. The winners were selected by a committee of academy members: Ezra Laderman (chairman), David Del Tredici, John Harbison, Fred Lerdahl, Tania Leon, Bernard Rands, Gunther Schuller, and Steven Stucky.

The residency is “designed to prepare students to enter today’s challenging classical music world” and “will support the school’s aim to shape artistic leaders who find creative new ways to engage audiences while maintaining the highest artistic standards.” The sextet will visit for four weeks each year beginning in October 2012.

The Library of Congress has established the new Dina Koston and Roger Shapiro Fund for New Music. Honoring the life and legacy of noted composer and pianist Dina Koston, the endowment will support commissions of new works and performances at the Library.

Subito Music Corporation has chosen Brian Ciach to be the first participant in the Subito Composer Fellowship program, developed in partnership with the Minnesota Orchestra Composer Institute.

Foundation for Contemporary Arts has named Pauline Oliveros the winner of the John Cage Award for 2012. The $50,000 prize is made biennially in recognition of outstanding achievement in the arts for work that reflects the spirit of John Cage.

The Serge Koussevitzky Music Foundation in the Library of Congress and the Koussevitzky Music Foundation, Inc. have awarded commissions for new musical works to eight composers. Jointly granting the commissions are the foundations and the performing organizations that will present the newly composed works.

The Hermitage Artist Retreat and the Greenfield Foundation have announced that composer and pianist Vijay Iyer is the winner of the $30,000 Greenfield Prize, awarded this year in the field of music.

These new composer signings along with the recent launch of the e-music publishing platform, Project Schott New York, continues Schott’s ‘Fresh Start in America’ initiative.

James Matheson has won the Charles Ives Living award and will receive $200,000 over a two-year period, beginning July 2012. Although the Charles Ives Living winner agrees to forgo all salaried employment during the award period, there is no restriction on accepting composition commissions.

United States Artists has announced the winners of the next 50 USA Fellowships—unrestricted grants of $50,000 each—including seven winners in the music category who range from composers to musical performance artists.