Let's make this birthday one to remember.

86 years old (Born on December 20, 1938)

Happy birthday, Maestro John Harbison! Another year older and wiser—though considering you've already snagged a Pulitzer Prize while creating symphonies and operas that keep audiences enthralled (and musicians slightly terrified), we'd say aging gracefully is your forte. Remember conducting alongside Peter Maxwell Davies at the Ojai Music Festival in '91? Clearly a career highlight—or was it just practicing musical diplomacy?

Now, as you celebrate another trip around the sun with grand choral harmonies echoing triumphantly behind you, may this next verse of life hit all the right notes: melodious success, minimal rehearsal drama—and plenty more moments worth composing about!