I am deeply honored to have been selected to receive the 2018 Charles Ives Fellowship from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. This award was established by the Academy with funds from the royalties of composer Charles Ives’ work by his widow, Harmony Ives, and—according to the letter I received—is “awarded annually to two composers of exceptional gifts.” How humbling it is to have any connection to America’s first great composer—one of twentieth-century music’s most far-sighted thinkers—and to receive this recognition from some of the American composers whose work I most admire. I am excited to meet the Academy members and my fellow awardees at the Ceremonial in New York this May.