The Northwest Indiana Symphony Orchestra announced this month they have renewed the contract of Music Director and Conductor Kirk Muspratt for three years through May 2029.
Muspratt is already busy working this summer as he prepares for the launch of the South Shore Summer Music Festival on July 17 in Lansing, which will include six community concerts, concluding August 1 in Griffith at Central Park. Muspratt was instrumental in founding the South Shore Summer Music Festival.
Just six months before he started his role as conductor of the NWI Symphony, in August 1999, Muspratt had already traveled to Northwest Indiana as a guest conductor to lead the NWI Symphony Orchestra for a free outdoor concert at Whiting Park. For more information about the summer concerts, visit www.nisorchestra.org.
Muspratt begins his 26th season as Music Director of the Northwest Indiana Symphony, after starting his tenure in the fall of 2000. The orchestra will mark its 85th season when it launches with its gala dinner and paired themed Rick Steves’ Europe Symphonic Journey concert, all hosted Sept. 18 at the Hard Rock Casino Northern Indiana.
Muspratt’s contracts, and those for previous conductors for the symphony, have ranged from two to five years.
Before heading to the Northwest Indiana Symphony, Muspratt was resident conductor of the Pittsburgh Symphony, Associate Conductor of the Utah Symphony, and Assistant Conductor of the St. Louis Symphony.
Muspratt is a native of Crowsnest Pass, Canada, and became an American citizen in 2010.
Muspratt divides his time and duties between his home in the John Hancock Building in downtown Chicago and his assignments as not only the maestro for the Northwest Indiana Symphony Orchestra, but also as music director of New Philharmonic Orchestra based in the suburb of Glen Ellyn and artistic director and music director of DuPage Opera Theatre and New Philharmonic Opera, the latter as musical assignments he began in 2004.
For many arts patrons and concert-goers, myself included, Muspratt in the past quarter of a century has become a frizzy-haired, friendly face and welcome arts and music advocate for Northwest Indiana.
Last season, he instituted a new opportunity for concert revelers to get to know even more about the man behind the baton when he conducted an intimate one-man show for an audience of 400 at the Theatre at the Center stage in February 2026 at The Center for Visual and Performing Arts in Munster.
Titled “Stories with the Maestro,” among the revelations revealed by Muspratt were tales of amorous flight attendants, a white-knuckled conducting audition resulting from a delayed flight from Austria, a speeding limo ride which almost cost him his St. Louis conducting career, and a lost adventure in New York City while still a green, teen musician. He will continue to razzle-dazzle audiences with more behind-the-scenes tales in part two of his conductor cabaret in January 2027, back at the Theatre at the Center stage.
Tickets will be available by August for the 2026-2027 season, including season subscriptions and special events like the Maestro’s one-man show.
Philip Potempa is a journalist, published author and radio show host on WJOB 1230 AM. He can be reached at PhilPotempa@gmail.com.
