Maestro William Kushner
LAKE CHARLES SYMPHONY
Maestro Bohuslav Rattay
A cultural centerpiece for decades by Brett Downer
For more than three decades, the baton of Maestro William Kushner waved with authority over the Lake Charles Symphony. Kushner was a central figure in music — and, by unofficial measure, a patriarch of the First Family of the arts in Lake Charles. His busy household excelled at the clarinet (him), bassoon (wife Sylvia), painting (daughter Lesley, in New York), French horn (son Eric, in Vienna) and playwriting (former Lake Charles High debate champion Tony Kushner, now arguably the preeminent dramatist of our time). But for all his Juilliard pedigree and white-tie-and-tails bearing, Bill Kushner would just as easily be spotted shopping at Market Basket or sitting down for an early supper at the Piccadilly on Ryan St. If you knew him — and most in town did — he’d offer a crackle-voice greeting. The symphony’s own story was 20 years in the making before the first note was sounded. The first movement began with Dr. Francis Bulber, who taught at McNeese from its earliest days and expanded his efforts far beyond the classroom. The Kushner Orchestra, Levingston Orchestra, and even the tiny Lake Charles Little Theatre Orchestra were indirect seeds of the original Lake Charles Symphony Orchestra, formed in 1938. World War II ended those efforts, so music enthusiasts would bring in guest groups for concerts.
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Flip forward to 1957, when members of the Lake Charles Junior Welfare League met the in the living room of president Anita Tritico to create a new symphony. Her colleague, Jane Barham, chaired the League’s study committee. On Nov. 11, 1958, the new-look Lake Charles Civic Symphony made its debut at McNeese. Warren Signor of the college faculty was the conductor. Dr. Ralph Squires, Signor’s campus colleague, offered “invaluable professional guidance” in launching the effort, according to Symphony history. That first night was long in coming. Bulber’s pioneering vision years before, Tritico’s mix of elegance and effectiveness, and Squires’ unofficial assistance all contributed to that first performance — and today, all three of them have local performance spaces named in their honor. Kushner took the baton in 1978 to begin a record 30-year run. During his tenure, the symphony continued to promote arts education throughout Southwest Louisiana — and partnered with nearly every local performing arts organization for ballet and musical theatre presentations.
May 2017