On April 16, Patricia Barber was elected to the illustrious American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a society founded in 1780 to honor excellence and convene leaders from every field of human endeavor toward advancing the common good. Among others elected this year are Michelle Obama, Jonathan Franzen, Judge Merrick Garland, gender philosopher Judith Butler, actress Anna Deveare Smith, and poet and president of the Mellon Foundation Elizabeth Alexander.

Jazz inductees from recent years include Keith Jarrett, Herbie Hancock, and Wayne Shorter, who join the rolls with musicians Bob Dylan, Renée Fleming, Shulamit Ran, Riccardo Muti, Mitsuko Uchida, Daniel Barenboim, and Stephen Sondheim.