Maurice Peress, born on March 18, 1930, in New York City, was an American conductor and arranger. He studied musicology at New York University and later pursued conducting at the Mannes School of Music. In 1961, he became assistant to Leonard Bernstein with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. Over two decades, Peress led orchestras including the Corpus Christi Symphony (1962–1974), Austin Symphony (1970–1972), and Kansas City Philharmonic (1974–1980). He conducted the premiere of Bernstein's Mass in 1971. From 1984, Peress reconstructed historic concerts such as George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue and arranged Duke Ellington’s works for symphony orchestra. He also worked on Ellington’s musical theater piece Queenie Pie and participated in a 1986 staged production. Maurice Peress passed away on December 31, 2017.
