Music lover and Dallas Opera supporter Martha Raley Peak passed away on Tuesday, November 10, 2015.
From Maestra Paiement:
“Martha was a very inspiring, curious individual, a good musician, and always eager to help art come to life. We looked at the full score of Everest together last February for a few hours. She had the most curious mind – full of great questions – and was truly interested to learn and grow from the experience.”
Martha supported all kinds of musicians in many ways. She endowed Nicole Paiement’s title – the Martha R. and Preston A. Peak Principal Guest Conductor – at The Dallas Opera.
Martha Peak had a lifelong passion for the arts, particularly music. She began playing the piano as a small child and took up the violin at age 12. By the time she attended Highland Park High School, she was giving piano lessons. She was a graduate of Sullins Junior College and earned a Bachelor of Music from Southern Methodist University with majors in piano and violin, and was inducted into the Pi Kappa Lambda honor society. She was a longtime member of the Board of Directors of The Dallas Opera.
Martha loved people and was a great champion of young musicians just beginning their careers and went to great lengths to help and encourage them. She enriched many, many lives with her thoughtfulness, gracious hospitality and generosity. She was honored at The Dallas Opera in association with the inaugural concert of the Linda and Mitch Hart Institute for Women Conductors.