title of music director emeritus of the Israel Philharmonic. In August 2022 Mehta conducted the Australian World Orchestra (AWO) in Sydney and Melbourne at Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House and Hamer Hall, Arts Centre Melbourne. He also conducted the AWO at the Edinburgh International Festival and the BBC Proms 2022. Personal life Mehta's first marriage was to Canadian soprano Carmen Lasky in 1958. They have a son, Mervon (since April 2009, Executive Director of Performing Arts for The Royal Conservatory in Toronto), and a daughter, Zarina. In 1964 they divorced. Two years after the divorce, Carmen married Mehta's brother, Zarin Mehta, formerly the Executive Director of the New York Philharmonic. In July 1969, Mehta married Nancy Kovack, an American former film and television actress. A permanent resident of the United States, Mehta retains his Indian citizenship. One of his close friends was Ravi Shankar, whom he first met in the 1960s when Mehta directed him with the Montreal Symphony. Their friendship continued after they were both living in Los Angeles and later in New York. "This was a wonderful period in my life and Zubin and I really had a great time." His second daughter Alexandra was born in Los Angeles in 1967, the result of an affair Mehta had between his two marriages. His son Ori was born in the 1990s as the result of an extra-marital affair in Israel during Mehta's second marriage. Honours and awards In 1965, he received an honorary doctorate from Sir George Williams University, which later became Concordia University. Mehta's name is mentioned in the song Billy the Mountain on the 1972 album Just Another Band from L.A. by Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention. Cellist Kurt Reher, who played when Mehta conducted the Los Angeles Philharmonic, was also a guest musician with The Mothers of Invention. At the Israel Prize ceremony in 1991, Mehta was awarded a special prize in recognition of his unique devotion to Israel and to the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. In 1995, he became a Laureate of the Wolf Prize in Arts. In 1999, Mehta was presented the "Lifetime Achievement Peace and Tolerance Award" of the United Nations. The Government of India honoured Mehta in 1966 with the Padma Bhushan and in 2001 with India's second highest civilian award, the Padma Vibhushan. In September 2006 the Kennedy Center announced Mehta as one of the recipients of that year's Kennedy