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Vivian Perlis, 1928-2019

The directors, officers, and staff of The Aaron Copland Fund for Music, Inc. express their sorrow at the passing of founding director Vivian Perlis. Vivian collaborated with Aaron Copland on his autobiography, and brought her many years of close association with Copland to the establishment and ongoing work of the Fund in supporting American concert music since 1993. She also brought the tremendous knowledge and insight that she gained from interviewing many of the leading American composers of the 20th and 21st centuries as founder and director of Oral History of American Music, Yale University Library, for 40 years. But in addition to her wisdom and experience, we will always remember her grace, her wit and her unfailing belief in the value of American composers and their work. We join her family in mourning her loss, but also in remembering her as the vibrant and loving person she always was.


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  • NY Times Obituary
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