Lake Charles Symphony

Marsha Kushner with Kyle Edmiston, Assistant Secretary of the Louisiana Office of Tourism & Gumbeaux Gator, SWLA's goodwill ambassador

"Kushner - A Lifetime of Music"

-By Angie Manning



The late William Kushner, former director of the Lake Charles Symphony,  was recently honored with the Tourism Lifetime Service Award, with Marsha Kushner accepting the award. During National Tourism Week, the Lake Charles/Southwest Louisiana Convention & Visitors Bureau recognized Kushner's many years of commitment to bringing music to life with the Lake Charles Symphony thereby enhancing the culture of Southwest Louisiana from a tourism perspective.

William Kushner Archives: http://www.monsoursphotography.com/

Kushner graduated from Julliard School of Music in New York City and was a clarinetist with the Houston and New Orleans Symphonies and the New York City Opera and Metropolitan Opera Orchestras in New York. Kushner brought his strong musical background and extensive experience to the Lake Charles Symphony in 1958. In 1967, he became the conductor of the Rapides Symphony in Alexandria, Louisiana, leading it from 1968 until his retirement in 2002. For 30 years, 1978 to 2008, Maestro Kushner was conductor of the Lake Charles Symphony, a role to which he brought his professional work ethic, kind spirit, laughter and incredible musical sensibility. Kushner also taught music at McNeese State University for 17 years. Under Kushner's leadership, the Southwest Louisiana musical community grew. The arts community misses Maestro Kushner dearly.