The Kennedy Center annually recognizes artists who have had a uniquely wide and enduring impact on American culture.
On Wednesday, the Washington, D.C. institution announced this year's recipients of the Kennedy Center Honors: country singer Reba McEntire, jazz saxophonist and composer Wayne Shorter, composer Philip Glass, singer Cher, and the creative team behind the smash musical Hamilton.
According to NPR, this year's awardees are a typically eclectic group of artists.
McEntire has forty years of studio history behind her and a sitcom to boot. Along with being a progenitor of jazz fusion and a celebrated Miles Davis collaborator, Shorter is a sci-fi lover who writes comic books. Glass is one of the most celebrated contemporary composers in the world, and is also a co-founder of Tibet House, a cultural institution that seeks to "ensure the survival of Tibetan civilization and culture." Cher is, of course, an idiosyncratic and indelible pop totem (and gifted Twitter user). Her statement upon learning Wednesday's news was typically offbeat: "When I was very young I saw Dumbo and Cinderella and knew then what I wanted to be and the path my life would take and here I am!"
The Kennedy Center is also celebrating the four-member team behind Hamilton, one of this decade's most striking artistic phenomenons: writer and actor Lin-Manuel Miranda, director Thomas Kail, choreographer Andy Blankenbuehler and music director Alex Lacamoire. In its announcement, the Kennedy Center calls the musical "a transformative work that defies category."
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