Shreveport Symphony follows Boulder Philharmonic by extending the maestro’s contract

By Peter Alexander

Michael Butterman

Last month the Boulder Philharmonic announced that Music Director Michael Butterman had extended his contract with the orchestra for five years, through the 2018–19 season.

Now the Shreveport, La., Symphony Orchestra has announced they have extended Butterman’s contract with that orchestra an additional four years, through the 2017–18 season. Butterman has been music director in Shreveport, where he lives with his family, since 2005.

“Michael has become a celebrity in our community,” Elizabeth (Libby) Siskon, president of the Shreveport Symphony Orchestra Board of Directors, said. “He is extremely well regarded and well-loved throughout the Shreveport area.” Butterman is credited with helping resolve a labor dispute at the orchestra during the 2008–09 season.

“I am extremely proud of the work we’ve accomplished together during my years with the Shreveport Symphony,” Butterman commented.

In addition to his positions with the Boulder and Shreveport orchestras, Butterman is the resident conductor of the Jacksonville (Fla.) Symphony Orchestra and the principal conductor for education and community engagement for the Rochester (New York) Philharmonic Orchestra, the first position of its kind in the United States. And he recently conducted his first performances as music director of the newly formed Pennsylvania Philharmonic.

Read the full news release from the Shreveport Symphony Board of Directors here.