Maestro Maurice Peress, March 18, 1930 - December 31, 2017

Distinguished American orchestra conductor, educator, author.

A founding Board Member of the Dvořák American Heritage Association, Maurice Peress was a passionate advocate of composer Antonín Dvořák and fought to save the house in which Dvořák lived during his American residency in the 1890s.  He started DAHA’s Concert and Lecture series in 2006, and shared his enthusiasm for Antonín Dvořák with his students at the Aaron Copland School of Music, who always excelled when they played at DAHA’s events at the Bohemian National Hall, under the baton of Maestro Peress.  Author of "Dvořák to Duke Ellington: A Conductor Explores America's Music and its African American Roots" and other works, he was committed to Dvořák and to DAHA, which was honored and privileged to have him as a inspired leader, colleague, and friend. 

Maurice Peress, Conductor Who Worked With Ellington, Dies at 87