PORTLAND, Maine – PORTopera welcomes Anthony Fratianne and Alfine Nathalie to their board this month. Both are participants in the Institute for Civic Leadership Emerging Leaders Program (ICL), an impressive program that develops young leaders and encourages community engagement through leadership in non-profit organizations and committees around Maine.

PARMA Recordings is pleased to announce the inaugural PARMA Student Composer Competition, the first in a series of annual competitions for student composers. Ten winners will be selected by an award-winning panel of three independent judges, and the winners' pieces will be published in the digitally-distributed 2012 PARMA Anthology Of Music: Student Edition. One Grand Prize Winner will be selected to have their piece professionally recorded and produced for release by PARMA. All recording, performer, production, and publicity costs will be completely subsidized, and the master will be released on a collection from PARMA to be distributed through industry leader Naxos. There is no fee required for entry into the competition.

PORTLAND, Maine – The Portland Symphony Orchestra (PSO) will host its 11th Annual Wine Dinner and Auction on Wednesday, March 14 at the Harraseeket Inn, 162 Main Street, in Freeport. This year’s dinner features courses prepared by some of Maine’s best-known chefs: Stephanie Brown, Chef & Owner, SeaGrass Bistro, Yarmouth; Jonathan Cartwright, Executive Chef, White Barn Inn, Kennebunkport; Eric Flynn, Executive Chef, Harraseeket Inn, Freeport; Sam Hayward, Executive Chef & Owner, Fore Street, Portland, and Lee Skawinski, Executive Chef & Co-Owner, Cinque Terre & Vignola, Portland. This year’s guests will enjoy exquisite wines from Adelsheim & Domain Drouhin Vineyards in Oregon.

The evening begins with a silent auction accompanied by wine and hors d’oeuvres. Dinner begins at 6:30 p.m. with the close of the silent auction, and the evening concludes with a live auction and dessert at 8:30 p.m.

Both the silent and live auctions will feature an array of unique and extraordinary items that donated by local artists and businesses to support the PSO. Items include amazing getaways, dining gift certificates, event tickets, beautiful gifts and jewelry, and much more.

Proceeds from the dinner will help the Symphony further its mission of serving the community by enriching lives through music.

Tickets are $200 per person or $2000 for a table of 10. For reservations, please call Michael Manning at (207) 773-6128 ext. 311. For more information, visit www.portlandsymphony.org.

About the Portland Symphony Orchestra:

Founded in 1923, the Portland Symphony Orchestra (PSO) is the largest performing arts organization in Maine and is widely regarded as one of the top symphony orchestras of its size in the country. Made up of more than 80 professional musicians, the PSO is renowned for its critically acclaimed performances and broad community engagement.

Distinguished Concerts International New York City (DCINY) announced that director Jean Strazdes and the Seaglass Chorale have been invited to participate in a performance of Morten Lauridsen’s Lux Aeterna on the DCINY Concert Series in New York City. This performance at Carnegie Hall is on Saturday, March 31, 2012. These outstanding musicians will join with other choristers to form the Distinguished Concerts Singers International, a choir of distinction. DCINY Artistic Director and Principal Conductor Jonathan Griffith will conduct the performance and will serve as the clinician for the residency.