Associate Professor of Music and Director of Orchestral Studies Akira Mori received the Immigrant Entrepreneur Leadership Award during the 10th annual Immigrant Entrepreneurs Summit (IES) in Des Moines on Nov. 18.
The Immigrant Leadership Award is awarded to a first-generation immigrant who has demonstrated leadership and an entrepreneurial spirit in his/her professional and family life and on behalf of the immigrant and larger community.
Summit organizers honored Mori “for his commitment to infuse high expectations of rigor, respect, and care in his relationships with musicians as a teacher, mentor, and conductor, along with his distinctive ability to both challenge and support their aspirations and performances.”
Born and raised in Japan and educated in the United States, Mori has professionally conducted in countries such as Japan, the United States, Russia, Ukraine, Moldova, and Argentina, and has taught at multiple universities across the United States and Asia including Indiana University, University of Minnesota, Louisiana State University, and Tokyo College of Music. He has taught on the faculty at Drake since 2008.