The Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra is under the baton of Maestro Darko Butorac. In May 2013, Butorac was named the new Music Director of the Tallahassee Symphony following a two year national search. Since 2007, Maestro Butorac has also served as the music director of the Missoula Symphony and has propelled the orchestra to a new level of musical achievement, with an expanded repertoire and premieres of works by emerging composers.

Tallahassee is extremely fortunate to house an orchestra of such exceptional quality for a city of its size. Thanks in large part to Florida State University and its outstanding faculty, as well as very talented community musicians, the TSO brings an extremely high-level concert experience to its patrons and EMMA is excited to share the experience with you.
Recently praised by the Tanjug News Agency for his “exceptional energy and musicianship,” Maestro Darko Butorac is quickly establishing himself as one of the world’s most sought-after young conductors. Within North America, Butorac has been featured as a guest conductor with such orchestras as the Charleston Symphony, the Canton Symphony, Orchestra Seattle, and the Seattle Chamber Singers, the Montana Lyric Opera and as the Principal Conductor of the Northwest Mahler Festival in Seattle.
Maestro Butorac was the 2004 Grand Prix laureate of the Fourth Vakhtang Jordania International Conducting Competition, where he was selected out of 24 competitors from 17 countries. In March 2005, he was invited by the League of American Orchestras to participate in the prestigious Bruno Walter National Conductor Preview with the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra.
Following his debut with the Belgrade Philharmonic in January of 2011 he was invited to both close that concert season and open the next. Additional international conducting commitments find Maestro Butorac in Argentina, China, Estonia, Germany, Italy, Poland, the Republic of Georgia, and the Ukraine. Butorac and the orchestra have shared the stage with renowned guest artists, including Grammy-nominated violinist Robert McDuffie, pianists Stewart Goodyear and Antonio Pompa-Baldi, and clarinetist Jon Manasse. An enthusiastic ambassador for classical music, he also produces the award-winning “DownBeat DownLow” podcast with radio personality Leah Lewis.
He has worked extensively at the Brevard Music Center, Aspen Music Festival, Indiana University and the University of Toronto. His principal mentors are David Effron, Jorma Panula, Imre Pallo and David Zinman. For more information follow EMMA Concert Association on Facebook.