Election to the American Academy of Arts and Letters, an honor society, is considered the highest formal recognition of artistic merit in the United States. The Academy’s membership of 300 is divided into departments of Architecture, Art, Literature, and Music. Members are elected for life and pay no dues. Only Academicians may nominate and elect new members. As of 2022, BMI is proud to represent 22 composer members of the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
John Adams (elected 1997)
John Luther Adams (elected 2022)
T. J. Anderson (elected 2005)
Robert Beaser (elected 2001)
William Bolcom (elected 1993)
John Harbison (elected 1992)
Stephen Hartke (elected 2009)
Stephen Jaffe (elected 2012)
Aaron Jay Kernis (elected 2011)
George E. Lewis (elected 2018)
Annea Lockwood (elected 2022)
Tobias Picker (elected 2012)
David Rakowski (elected 2016)
Bernard Rands (elected 2004)
Steve Reich (elected 1994)
Terry Riley (elected 2020)
David Sanford (elected 2022)
Joseph Schwantner (elected 2002)
Ellen Taaffe Zwilich (elected 1992)
Joan Tower (elected 1998)
Chinary Ung (elected 2020)
Yehudi Wyner (elected 1999)