Lara and Scott St. John, the Knights Collaborate on Mozart Album
Violinist Lara St. John is releasing a family affair through her Ancalagon Records label on August 3. The album, Mozart, features St. John and her brother Scott St. John—second violinist of the St. Lawrence String Quartet—and the New York–based Knights ensemble, led by brothers Eric (conductor) and Colin Jacobsen (concertmaster). The St. Johns take turns in the spotlight, performing Mozart’s Violin Concertos Nos. 1 and 3, and Sinfonia Concertante. The album will be available through iTunes and the CD will be released October 12. larastjohn.com

The Kronos Quartet and eighth blackbird at the Cabrillo Festival
Grammy Award–winning eighth blackbird and the Kronos Quartet are performing August 8 at the 48th installment of maestro Marin Alsop’s Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music, which be held August 1–15 in Santa Cruz, California. Cellist Wendy Sutter will also perform the seven-movement Songs and Poems for solo cello, which was written for her by Philip Glass. cabrillomusic.org

National Youth Orchestra of Iraq Receives Donated Violas
The National Youth Orchestra of Iraq has received five violas after a short campaign aided by International Viola Society president Michael Vidulich. The orchestra was created in 2009 by teenage Iraqi pianist Zuhal Sultan, American violinist Allegra Klein, and Scottish conductor Paul MacAlindin. Donors include Deutsche Viola Gesellschaft’s chair Karin Wolf, Arc-Verona owner Martin Tittor, Classical Music Magazine deputy editor Kimon Daltas, St. James Orchestra Paisley president Ken Paterson, and Barbara Quigley, a mother connected to the Edinburgh Youth Orchestra.musicians4harmony.org

The Second Stradivarius International Violin Competition Winners Announced
The results are in for the Junior Division of the second Stradivarius International Violin Competition, which took place in Salt Lake City, Utah, from July 5–10. First laureate is Marié Rossano, 16, of Seattle, Washington; second laureate is Andi Zhang, 17, of Beijing, China; third laureate is Stephen Kim, 14, of Cupertino, California; and grand-prize winner of the Utah Division is 18-year-old David Price. The competition was founded by luthier Charles W. Liu and is produced and funded by Charles W. Liu Fine Violins. Along with cash prizes, the first prize winner will perform with the Utah Symphony in their 2011 summer season. stradcompetition.org