“For Missoula’s music lovers, to listen to the Missoula Symphony Orchestra play live is to complete a rite of passage,” writes Dillon Kato in Wednesday’s (1/7) Missoulian (Missoula, Montana). “Now in its 60th season, the Missoula Symphony Orchestra’s 80 members play a broad range of events every year, including a free outdoor summer concert in downtown Missoula. The orchestra is made up of local musicians, including some University of Montana faculty and students. The orchestra is currently led by music director Darko Butorac, who joined the group in 2007…. The orchestra also has a sister organization, the Missoula Symphony Chorale. Together, the two groups make up the Missoula Symphony Association. ‘Darko is just a supreme artist; there is no other way to put it. He’s also just a great guy and he loves Missoula,’ said John Driscoll, the association’s executive director. Conductor Eugene Andrie led the orchestra when it was first organized in 1954…. The symphony played its first concert on April 3, 1955. Driscoll, in his 15th [year] as executive director, said he sees the orchestra as a reflection of the Missoula community. ‘If you look on stage, the performers are a microcosm of Missoula. All ages, backgrounds, and vocations,’ he said.”
Posted January 9, 2015
