When they think of Britain, young Japanese associate it with funky music and (especially among those who have not visited) a certain sense of style and tradition.

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"For students, a good digital piano is better than a mediocre upright, " said Andrea McAlister, associate professor of piano pedagogy at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, where, as at most schools, students learn basic keyboarding skills on digital instruments.

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Not everyone is happy with this proposal: the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Alexy II, is reported to be against the idea of using music he believes many people still associate with repression and state-imposed atheism.

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"The All-in-One Mobile Companion is perfect for travelers and mobile professionals, allowing people to access content on an external hard drive or thumb drive from any mobile device, as well as sync videos, music and photos, automatically, " said Daniel Kelley, associate vice president of marketing, D-Link North America.

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Joshua Koestenbaum, associate principal cellist of the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, and Sergiu Luca, an acclaimed early-music specialist, were invited to show them off.

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"We're going through what took place in music and general trade books probably a year ago, " says Larry Daniels, associate executive director of the Oberlin, Ohio, organization.

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"Criolo is probably the best example of how Brazilians have forged in the last decade or so their own musical language for hip-hop beyond merely rapping in Portuguese, " said Christopher Dunn, associate professor of Brazilian studies at Tulane University, who co-edited a book on the country's popular music.

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