Items of interest. (Impromptu).

States Ranked on Entrepreneurship Policies

The Small Business Survival Committee (SBSC) has released its sixth annual state rankings according to its respective policy climates for small business and entrepreneurship in the Small Business Survival Index 2001.

The Index 2001 often a gauge by which to measure and compare how government in the states treat small businesses and entrepreneuers. Seventeen major government-imposed or government-related costs impacting small business and entrepreneurs across a broad spectrum of industries and business types are tied together to obtain the results. The Index captures much of the governmental burdens impacting critical economic decisions, particularly affecting investment and entrepreneurship, state by state.

The top four states with the best policy environments include: 1) Nevada, 2) South Dakota, 3) Washington, 4) Wyoming. The states ranking the lowest include: 48) Maine, 49) Hawaii, 50) Rhode Island, 51) District of Columbia.

For the complete list of states and additional information on the Small Business Survival Committee, log on to www.sbsc.org.

7th Annual Oberlin Piano Competition Winners

Pianist Darrett Zusko, 16, of Windsor, Ontario, Canada, won first prize in the Seventh Annual Oberlin International Piano Competition and Festival. As the first-prize winner, he was awarded a $4,000 cash prize. A student at the University of Western Ontario, Zusko is a past winner of the Bartok-Kabalevsky-Prokofiev International Piano Competition.

Eun Taek Kim, 13, and Ji Yeon Shin, 15, both of Korea, shared second prize and were each awarded $1,500. Kim studies in the precollege division of the Seoul Art Center School. Shin, also a student, won the Yewon Art School Concerto Competition this year.

The Oberlin competition, for pianists ages 13 to 18, took place in the Conservatory's Warner Concert Hall and included entrants from five countries.

Gina Bachauer Competition Winners Awarded

Juilliard students Soyeon Lee, Korea, and Xun Wang, China, recently won the 2001 Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition held at Juilliard. Their prizes included an hour-long live radio performance and full tuition and living expenses at The Juilliard School for the 2001-2002 academic year.

Lee is a graduate student at Juilliard, where she also obtained her undergraduate degree. Wang is an undergraduate student at Juilliard. He has formally studied at Central Music Conservatory, the University of Cincinnati and the Manhattan School of Music.

Jirvi's Debut to be on PBS 

World-renowned music director Paavo Jarvi's inaugural concert with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra (CSO) will be telecast nationally on PBS in late spring of 2002. This PBS broadcast will be the first-ever national telecast featuring a music director's inaugural concert with an orchestra.

Commissioned American composer Charles Coleman wrote the opening work for the concert. Internationally acclaimed cellist Truls Mork joined CSO for the performance of Shostakovich's Cello Concerto No. 1 on this opening weekend concert.

An Estonian-born American, Jarvi moved to the United States at age 17 to study at the Curtis Institute of Music, as well as at the Los Angeles Philharmonic Institute. He has held the position of principal guest conductor with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic and the City of Birmingham (England) Symphony Orchestra. Jarvi succeeds such pre-eminent directors as Leopold Stokowski, Fritz Reiner, Max Rudolf, Thomas Schippers and Jesus Lopez-Cobos as the CSO music director.

21st Annual Corwin Master Classes Announced

The Music Center Education Division announces the Twenty-first Annual Corwin Master Classes in Los Angeles, California, February 16-17, and March 2 and 10. The series is intended for students ages 16 to 25 planning professional symphonic careers.

The itinerary includes classes instructed by the Los Angeles Philharmonic, pianist Andre Watts, conductor Franz Welser-Most, Pamela Frank and other internationally acclaimed artists.

Begun in 1981, the tuition-free Corwin Master Class program is sponsored by the Dororthy and Sherrill C. Corwin Foundation and presented by the Music Center Education Division.

Applications are due by January 14, 2002. For more information and applications, log on to www.musiccenter.org/corwin or call [phone].