Harold Aks, Founder
Harold Aks, the Dalton School's chorus conductor for almost 50 years, was beloved by generations of students. Having studied under Robert Shaw and Pierre Monteux, he inspired the creation of the Dalton Chorale and led it until his death in 2000. Overlapping his five-decade affiliation with Dalton were 43 years spent as a lecturer at Sarah Lawrence and as director of the Sarah Lawrence Chorus. During an incredibly varied and productive career, he conducted and taught at the Juilliard School, the Mannes College of Music, Mills College and the Walden School, and he founded and led the Interracial Chorus. A guest conductor at M.I.T., Princeton and Yale, he also appeared at Carnegie Hall, Town Hall and Lincoln Center. His international resume included performances in Austria, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Holland, Israel, Italy, Liechtenstein, Russia, Spain, Switzerland and Yugoslavia. For 16 years, he served as Musical Director and Chief Lecturer of the St. Moritz International Choir Festival.