Peruvian drummer and percussionist, Hector Morales has combined national and international performance for the past 20 years with his work as a teaching artist in the Tri-State area. Morales, has taught countless music residencies primarily in Afro-Peruvian, Latin and Urban Percussion, through leading arts organizations in the tri-state area. In the year 2015 he received the “Artist Of The Year” award from Young Audiences NJEP and in 2023 he was inducted into the “People’s Hall Of Fame” and received the "Token Of Appreciation" award by City Lore. In this same year he also became a recipient of a Heritage Fellowship Award by the NJ State Council On The Arts. His credits include creating curriculum for the NYC DOE, leading professional developments for music educators and serving as grant panelist for different art councils at the local and state level. As Adjunct Faculty he currently co-teaches a course on Performing and Teaching World Music at William Paterson University. Hector is also the author of “The Afro-Peruvian Percussion Ensemble” - Instructional book/DVD published by Sher Music Co, nominated in the “Best Educational Book of 2014” category by Modern Drummer Magazine. Morales currently leads “The Afro-Peruvian Ensemble” an All-Star group integrated by master musician of Afro-Peruvian music currently leaving in the US and the “Lima In Blue Collective”. He also performs with other influential ensembles of the Afro-Peruvian Jazz scene in NYC including Yuri Juarez Afroperuano Group. Some of the stages he has perform at include the Lincoln Center Out of Doors, Smithsonian Folk Festival (US), The National Museum of Peru (Peru), the "Society of Musicians and Composers of Chile" (Chile), "Festival du Monde Arabe de Montreal" (Canada), and Jerusalem Music Festival (Israel-Palestine).