Ned Rorem Elected President of American Academy of Arts and Letters

Ned Rorem Photo by Josh Mitchell

Ned Rorem has recently been elected president of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, becoming only the fifth composer to head the Academy in its 102 years. Mr. Rorem's predecessor, the writer Louis Auchincloss, had held the office for three years.

Mr. Rorem, an Academy member since 1979, is also the author of 14 books, including The Paris Diary and Other Entertainment.

Although he has been on the faculties of the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia and New York's Manhattan School of Music, Mr. Rorem says, not completely seriously, that this will be his first grown-up job. His initial reaction to the news that he had been elected was that there must be some mistake. "All children may not be artists," he says, "but all artists are children. I will try to be as adult a president as possible, without losing my integrity as a child." "And," he quipped, "since music is the most neglected of the arts, my first task as president will be to change the name of this organization to the American Academy of Arts, Letters, and Music."

"I've always liked being at the academy and working on the award committees with professionals in an atmosphere that is by definition elitist. I think the most important thing is to retain the integrity of the institution while continuing to offer financial encouragement to young composers, artists and writers."

Other officers recently elected were the writers, John Hollander, as Secretary (replacing Ada Louis Huxtable), and Shirley Hazzard, as Vice-President for Literature (replacing John Guare); and the composer Leon Kirchner, as Vice-President for Music (replacing Milton Babbitt).