To be a great city you have to have great performing arts organizations. For nearly 70 years, the Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra has been delighting audiences in the Capital Region with performances that rival those found in any major market in America.

The organization’s Executive Director is Cary Byrd.

Cary started out as a French horn player with the symphony in the late 1990s. Since then he has helped lead the LSU School of Music, the LSU College of Music and Dramatic Arts, the Houston Grand Opera and Da Camera of Houston.

One of the other pillars of the performing arts in Baton Rouge is the Baton Rouge Ballet Theater. Founded in 1960, the company has built a solid reputation of excellence through grassroots efforts and exceptional leadership. Over the years, the Baton Rouge Ballet has nurtured hundreds of award-winning local dancers and choreographers, while bringing world-class professional dance to the Baton Rouge stage.

Christy Benoit is the Baton Rouge Ballet Theater’s Director of  Development and Communications. 

Leanne Clement is general director of Opera Louisiane. Founded in 2007, in its less-than-a-decade existence, Opera Louisiane has hired hundreds of local artists to perform in such favorites as The Magic Flute, Madame Butterfly and the Barber of Seville while creating a new generation of opera lovers with their heavy focus on education.

Photos taken over lunch at Mansur’s On the Boulevard by Ken Stewart.