Mason Bates is among the winners of the 18th annual Heinz Awards, an honor which includes an unrestricted cash prize of $250,000. At 35, Bates—a composer noted for his integration of classical music with DJ culture and the use of electronics in his symphonic work—is one of the youngest-ever recipients of the award.

When Marvin Hamlisch was inventing music, his focus and concentration were extraordinary. He would look at the words I had brought in for 30 or 40 seconds and hear something in his head. His hands would then take over. After that initial “idea” phase in the composing, there seemed to be no time-lag between his continued musical impulses and his ability to simply play them.

Oregon-based composer Kevin Walczyk has been named the $25,000-winning recipient of the ninth Raymond and Beverly Sackler Music Composition Prize, which was awarded for the composition of a concerto for brass quintet and wind ensemble. Among the finalists were Justin Dello Joio, Augusta Read Thomas, and Roshanne Etezady.

Chosen from a pool of 165 candidates through a competitive process, the composers will be in Minneapolis from January 7-11, 2013, for rehearsals, seminars, and tutoring sessions, as well as a public “Future Classics” concert of their works on January 11.

Chamber Music America (CMA) has announced the recipients of grants totalling $557,000 which will support the composition of new works and community-based residencies.

Avid PR contact Ian Bruce, responding to a direct request for comment, stated, “Specifically on Sibelius, this was not part of the sales we announced this week. Sibelius stays with Avid, and is an important brand and product for us going forward.” Sibelius Senior Product Manager David Spreadbury confirmed the closure of the UK office and that development is moving elsewhere.

Composer Adam Schoenberg has signed a publishing deal with Ricordi London, part of the Universal Music Publishing Classical group (UMPC). It is the company’s first ever signing of an American composer.

Anthony Cheung, French composer Franck Krawczyk, and Hungarian composer/conductor Peter Eötvös will share in the 2011 Marie-Josée Kravis Prize for New Music at the New York Philharmonic at the request of inaugural recipient Henri Dutilleux. The 2012 Kravis Emerging Composer will be American Sean Shepherd.

For the inaugural session this summer, five composers from across the U.S. have been invited to participate in this intensive, annual, all-scholarship creative workshop and mentoring program.

Mazzoli, currently working on her second full-length opera, was chosen from over 100 applicants for the position and now has the opportunity to follow a personalized, three-year development track focused on the advancement of her career as an operatic composer.