During a private dinner ceremony at the Arts Club of Washington (in the historic home of President James Monroe) on Monday night, the S&R Foundation conferred its Washington Awards on five deserving young musicians. For the four runners-up, we heard a brief recorded excerpt of their work: pianist Naoko Takao, Special Committee Award Winner (Persichetti’s 7th sonata); marimbist Naoko Takada (a concerto by Ney Rosauro); composer Moto Osada (his own Take the Six for Marimba…

>> After the fire at Georgetown Public Library, DDOT warns that Wisconsin Ave. Southbound is still blocked at 34th Street NW, Northbound Traffic is blocked at Q Street NW. East-West Routes are and will continue to be congested >> Scads of dead or dying fish are surfacing in the Shenandoah River, again. [Washington Times] >> Arlington’s Booeymonger really means it when they say their parking is for 20 minutes only. [Andyland via DC Blogs]…

FRIDAY: >> Print out this PDF and take it to Local 16 between 6 to 9 p.m. tonight to receive a free drink, courtesy the Not For Tourists Guide to Washington, DC 2007. They’ll also be giving away free copies of the Guide. >> Local rockers The Pharmacy Prophets are brewing up a high-concept hootenanny at Iota tonight. When the band takes the stage, they’ll simultaneously be filming live concert footage for a multimedia project…

Forgive our lax attitude with the Arts Agenda of late, as we’ve been experiencing a few staff changes around here and are still working out the scheduling kinks. That being said, all of DCist would like to extend a hearty thank you to Cyndi Spain, who has decided to retire from her DCist arts duties to focus on being a busy career woman and a doting bride. Good luck, Cyndi! The Arts Agenda will return…

>> New this Thursday is “Mary Swift’s Washington: The Arts Scene, 1975-2000” at Flashpoint. The exhibit features work by photographer Mary Swift, managing editor and photographer-in-residence of The Washington Review. The 64 photos on display include portraits of key personalities in the D.C. arts scene and are organized into three major sections: “Creators,” featuring images of Washington-area artists, poets, dancers and performers; “Powers,” showcasing the curators, art dealers and administrators who represent decision-making power within…

We once had a housemate who had a winter internship at the Smithsonian and worked in the Arts and Industries Building, that “2 1/2-acre fairy tale castle in polychrome brick” (according to an AIA guide) at Seventh Street SW and Independence Avenue. But during that winter, there was some concern that the 125 year-old roof couldn’t support the weight of the snow. The building was closed to visitors, but was still somehow safe for workers,…