Summer orchestra to hold open auditions

The Harvard Summer School Orchestra will hold open auditions June 28-July 1 from 5 to 9 p.m. in Lowell Hall (rooms B12 and B13). Auditions will consist of playing one prepared piece and some sight-reading. Viola, bass, and brass players are especially welcome.

For more information, contact Judith Zuckerman, orchestra director, at (781) 899-4335, or judyzuckerman@yahoo.com.

Stem cell discussion open to all

World-renowned stem cell researchers will discuss stem cells at a public forum on Sunday (June 13) at 4 p.m. at Borders bookstore at Downtown Crossing (10 School St.). The panel will feature Thomas Dudley Cabot Professor of the Natural Sciences Douglas Melton; David Scadden, Harvard professor of medicine; Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.I.T.) Professor of Biology Rudolph Jaenisch; and embryonic stem cell specialist Richard Mollard of Monash University in Australia.

WBUR's Rachel Gotbaum will moderate the event, which is sponsored by the International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) - an independent, nonprofit organization established to promote and foster the exchange of information and ideas relating to stem cells.

Submissions sought for Noma-Reischauer Prize

The Edwin O. Reischauer Institute at Harvard is offering the Noma-Reischauer Prizes in Japanese Studies for 2004 to the undergraduate and graduate student with the best essays on Japan-related topics. The undergraduate award is $2,000 and the graduate award is $3,000. The deadline for submissions is June 30. Course and seminar papers and undergraduate or graduate theses written during this academic year are eligible.

For application guidelines, contact Ruiko Connor at the Reischauer Institute, (617) 495-3220.

These prizes are funded by Kodansha Ltd. Publishers, to honor the memory of Reischauer - ambassador to Japan from 1961 to 1966.

- Compiled by Andrew Brooks