Praised by the Westdeutsche Zeitung for his “exceptional combination of passion, elegance and well‐timed pacing”, Darko Butorac has established himself as a conductor in demand with orchestras both in Europe and the Americas. He currently serves as the Music Director of the Tallahassee and Missoula Symphony Orchestras, and was recently appointed as the new Music Director of the Asheville Symphony.
Following his debut with the Belgrade Philharmonic in January 2011, Butorac was reengaged to conduct both the season finale and the opening concert of the 2012 season. Other notable guest conducting engagements include performances with the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Neuss and the Georgische Kammerorchester Ingolstadt (Germany), the Rubinstein Philharmonic of Lodz (Poland), the Xiamen Symphony (China), the Tallinn Sinfonietta (Estonia), and the Slovenian Radio Symphony Orchestra. He has appeared at such prestigious venues as the Vienna Konzerthaus, the Gran Teatro Nacional of Lima, Belgrade’s Kolarac Hall, the Teatro Magnani in Italy, and at the Tartu, Aspen and St.Olav summer music festivals. From 2009 to 2013 he served as the principal conductor of the Fidenza Opera Festival.
Distinguished collaborations include soprano Renee Fleming, cellist Colin Carr, violinist Robert McDuffie, and Oscar-winning actor J.K.Simmons. Highlights of the 2018-19 season include performances with pianist Garrick Ohlsson, clarinetist Anthony McGill, the Morehouse College Glee Club, and a performance with legendary guitarist Warren Haynes as part of the Asheville Amadeus Festival.
Butorac is also in demand as a public speaker on leadership. His TEDx Montana talk on the “Language of Conducting” has over 100K views on YouTube. He has spoken on behalf of Brighthouse, a division of BCG, and was the headline speaker at the Birla Carbon International Leadership Summit in Bangkok in 2018.
As the Grand Prix Laureate and Gold Medalist of the Fourth International Vakhtang Jordania Conducting Competition Butorac was invited to conduct orchestras across four continents. He was also selected to participate at the Bruno Walter National Conductor Preview hosted by the League of American Orchestras and the Jacksonville Symphony. He is an avid traveler, having visited almost seventy countries, and is passionate about discovering the world and bringing people together through the beauty of music.
For more information on Butorac, please visit www.darkobutorac.com.