The London Philharmonic, in London, has announced the appointment of Taiwanese-born violist Ting-Ru Lai as its new No. 4 violist. A graduate of the Guildhall School

The 8 semi-finalists have today been announced at the 2015 Windsor Festival International String Competition, in England. They are: violinists Elina Buksa from Latvia, Christian Grajner-Desa from the Britain and Ji Yoon Lee from South Korea, violists Timothy Ridout from Britain and Ting-Ru Lai from Taiwan and cellists Jonathan Dorman from the Britain, Stanislas Kim from France and Jeong Lee from South Korea.