In Saturday’s (10/10) Ledger-Enquirer (Columbus, Georgia), Sonya Sorich reports, “Harry Kruger, former conductor for orchestras in Columbus and LaGrange, Ga., died Thursday. He was 80. Friends remember Kruger as a leader whose enthusiasm for music never hit a low note. ‘He’s really left a lasting impact here. He really was an orchestra builder,’ said Ron Wirt, associate director of Columbus State University’s Schwob School of Music. ‘He professionalized the Columbus symphony during the time he was here.’ Wirt played under Kruger’s direction in the Columbus Symphony Orchestra, a group Kruger conducted from 1965 to 1986. … Kruger was also a major force in LaGrange’s music community. He was the founding conductor and music director of the LaGrange Symphony Orchestra, a group that presented its first concert in 1990. … Throughout his career, Kruger also worked with groups like the Atlanta Symphony, the Atlanta Civic Ballet, the Atlanta Community Orchestra, the Middle Georgia Symphony Orchestra and the Seoul, Korea, Philharmonic Orchestra.”
Posted October 14, 2009
