Benedetti secured a £2m, six-album record contract after winning BBC Young Musician of the Year at 16 and has risen to international fame. She has also been involved in supporting the Big Noise orchestra in Raploch, Stirling - inspired by the Venezuelan El Sistema scheme to help poorer children. The violinist said: "So many people up and down the country are trying to create a better foundation for musical education. But decisions have been made, especially in the light of funding cuts, that are, I think, catastrophic to our future as a nation."
Ticket Prices - West End theatre tickets are now priced at an average of £46.40, a face value increase of 2.8% on the previous year, according to the Society of London Theatre's Box Office Data Report for 2011. Covering all 51 theatres in full SOLT membership, the report includes both commercial West End houses and major subsidised venues such as the National Theatre and Royal Opera House. When focusing purely on the commercial West End, the average face value of a ticket was £46.96, an increase of 2.4% on 2010, and £43.12 in the subsidised theatres, an increase of 6.3% on 2010. The annual rate of inflation was about 4%, meaning that, overall, the average face value of tickets increased at less than inflation.
At Risk - Seventeen venues across the UK have been added to the Theatre Buildings at Risk Register, including the Theatre Royal Margate, Darlington Arts Centre and the Warehouse Theatre in Croydon. The register, which is published annually by the Theatres Trust, aims to highlight theatres across the UK at a "real risk of being lost". Despite the new additions, the overall number of buildings on the list has reduced from 56 to 49 in the last year, with a number of high-profile venues removed from the register.
"There's good news that, overall, the number of buildings on our TBAR register has come down this year," Theatres Trust director Mhora Samuel told The Stage. "We're pleased some have found the funds and support they so desperately needed, such as Wilton's [Music Hall] and the Gaiety in Ayr. However, we've also lost some important venues and I'm very concerned about the future of the 17 theatres added to the register."
Scotch Mist - A Stone Roses fan is selling a container of "atmosphere" on eBay from the band's recent reunion gig in Manchester. Bottled in what appears to be a urine sample container, bids have now reached more than £500. The atmosphere was collected "at around 10pm on the opening night", according to the seller. "Here is your chance to own your very own piece of Mancunian history... approx 10cc of awesome atmosphere." The seller added that the atmosphere was bottled at Heaton Park on 29 June between the songs This Is The One and She Bangs The Drums. The seller says he will give some of the proceeds to a local music project for young people. The opening night at Heaton Park was the first major UK gig by the Stone Roses' original line-up in 22 years.
(Jim Evans)
