Five Columbia Composers Awarded by the American Academy of Arts and Letters

The American Academy of Arts and Letters has announced the 20 recipients of its 2026 Awards in Music, honoring both established and emerging composers. Alumni Katherine Balch (GSAS ’22, Professor at Yale University), Ashkan Behzadi (GSAS ’19, faculty at the Manhattan School of Music), and Natacha Diels (GSAS ’16, Professor at the University of Pennsylvania) received Arts and Letters Awards, which “acknowledge composers who have arrived at their own voice.” DMA students Arjan Singh Dogra and Diallo Banks received Charles Ives Scholarships.

Congratulations to all five composers on this remarkable distinction!