Last November 1st, the American chapter of La Renaissance Française, a century-old French organization, celebrated Miles Morgan, on the day of his 95th birthday, at the Residence of the Ambassador of France to the United States in Washington D.C. La Renaissance Française and bestowed upon him its highest honor.
Created in 1916 by French Président Raymond Poincaré, La Renaissance Française's original mandate was to bring the French language and culture to newly liberated French regions and to contribute to long-lasting peace in Europe through language, knowledge, and culture.
This is precisely what Miles Morgan has accomplished through the American Friends of Blérancourt, the only Franco-American Museum in France, in part dedicated to the history and legacy of his great-aunt Anne Morgan, whose father was financial mogul J.P. Morgan.
Miles Morgan played a fundamental role in the reconstruction and influence of the Franco-American Museum in Blérancourt.
ELAINE LEARY AND MILES MORGAN AT la renAISSANCE FRANCAISE MEDAL CEREMONY (C) AFB
In recent years, Miles Morgan was the leading supporter and presenter in the documentary video and eighteen-city tour of the American Women Rebuilding France traveling exhibition, which tells the story of Anne Morgan and her work with three hundred and fifty American women volunteers to rebuild Picardy following WWI. Thanks to Miles, in March of 2019, the film Anne Morgan's War was shown in 951 PBS markets throughout the U.S.
A musician, Miles Morgan has been particularly active in every aspect of early music for four decades. He received a Bachelor of Arts in History and Literature in 1950 from Harvard University and trained as a conductor in the United States and Italy. He has conducted in many European countries.
He was a director of the Associazione Musicale Romana for many years, and for six years, he was a music director of the Bangor Symphony Orchestra. In the 1960s, he was a director of Janus Films, and he has served on the boards of the Boston Early Music Festival, the Venice Music Festival, and the Philadelphia Chamber Orchestra. From 2000 to 2017, he was an artistic director for the Tropical Baroque Festival in Miami and, from 1982 to 2005, a regular participant in the Bamboo Organ Festival (Las Piñas, Philippines).
(sources: La Renaissance Française USA / Consulate General of France)
