Congratulations to John Adams, who has been named a winner of the 2008 Opera News Award. The New York Philharmonic's music director designate, Alan Gilbert, will present the composer with the award in a ceremony on November 16 in New York City; Gilbert will lead the Metropolitan Opera's production of Adams's Doctor Atomic in October. This year's other award recipients are sopranos Natalie Dessay and Renée Fleming, mezzo-soprano Marilyn Horne, and baritone Sherrill Milnes.

Congratulations to Audra McDonald, who as been nominated for an Emmy Award for her performance in the ABC-TV version of A Raisin in the Sun. Audra received a Tony Award (her fourth) for the 2004 Broadway stage revival of the seminal 1959 play by Lorraine Hansberry.

Congratulations to Punch Brothers: the band's take on "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" has been selected as one of three finalists in ESPN's Battle of the Bands, part of Baseball's Tonight's celebration of the 100th anniversary of that classic baseball tune. Chris Thile be stopping by the show Tuesday afternoon at 12:30 PM ET to answer fans' questions about the tune, the contest, the band, and anything else that might cross fans' minds. You can submit your own question now ...

k.d. lang received an honorary Doctorate of Laws degree from the University of Alberta in her native Canadian home province. In her acceptance speech during the university's commencement ceremonies in Edmonton, k.d. exhorted the university's graduates to dedicate their lives to helping others.

"Mr. DJ, can you play another song?" With those five words, David Byrne accepted his Lifetime Achievement Award from label mate and friend Laurie Anderson at the 12th annual Webby Awards ceremony Tuesday night in New York City. The Webbys, honoring the best of the internet, limit speeches for all recipients to just five words, making for some fittingly creative efforts on the part of award winners.

Congratulations to Punch Brothers' Chris Thile has been nominated for a 2008 Americana Award by the Americana Music Association. Chris joins an esteemed group of nominees in the Instrumentalist of the Year category, which also includes Sam Bush, Gurf Morlix, and Buddy Miller, who appears on Emmylou Harris's new album, All I Intended to Be.

In celebration of this week's release of Emmylou Harris's new album, All I Intended to Be, Epiphone guitars and Nonesuch Records are teaming up to offer fans the chance to win a new Epiphone EJ-200 acoustic guitar and a copy of the new CD.

The 62nd Ojai Music festival came to a close Sunday night as it began the Thursday before, with the music of featured composer, Steve Reich. It was Reich's first time at the event since he gave the West Coast premiere of his Four Organs there in 1973. This time around, it was So Percussion that performed the piece, and there was plenty more of the composer's work to be heard throughout the event's four days.

David Byrne will receive a special Webby Lifetime Achievement Award tonight at the 12th annual Webby Awards Gala at New York's Cipriani Wall Street, hosted by master of ceremonies Seth Meyers of Saturday Night Live. The Webbys are the leading international award recognizing excellence on the Internet. Byrne's Playing the Building, a special, site-specific sound installation at New York City's Maritime Building, has been the talk of the town since it opened on May 31 ...

k.d. lang's extensive tour of Canada with songs from her latest Nonesuch release, Watershed, continues this week, after several stops across the expanse of her native land, which recently announced that she would be among the newest inductees to Canada's Walk of Fame. "Still thrills, this voice," says the StarPhoenix's Joanne Paulson, after last week's show in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

David Byrne's latest project, Playing the Building, is set to open this Saturday in downtown New York City. Byrne has created a sound installation in which he's turned an entire building, the early 20th-century Battery Maritime Building, into a working instrument that visitors can play. Admission is free, with an opening reception Saturday evening at 6 PM and the exhibit open Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays through August 10.