Kermit Poling

“The Romantic spirit lives, breathes, and flourishes in Kermit Poling.” (Fanfare Magazine)  Kermit Poling is music director of the South Arkansas Symphony and the Shreveport Metropolitan Ballet. He is also Associate Conductor of the Shreveport Symphony, an orchestra where he was concertmaster for over 27 years. He has produced the Shreveport Symphony’s broadcast series since 1987, having also produced radio programming for WBUR Boston and other public radio stations. He serves as general manager of the Red River Radio public radio network at LSUS, having been appointed to the position in 2006. In 2015 he became music director of the Marshall Symphony Orchestra in Texas.
As a conductor, Maestro Poling performs extensively throughout the United States and around the world. He has been featured with the orchestras such as the Orquesta Sinfónica del Estado de México, Moscow Chamber Orchestra, Oklahoma City Philharmonic, Filharmonia Veneta, Shenzhen Symphony of China and many other orchestras throughout his career.    Also a composer, Poling's works include the ballets Peter Pan, Beauty and the Beast, Wizard of Oz and Phanton of the Opera, his score for the documentary Tarzan, Lord of the Louisiana Jungle and No Sound of Trumpet nor Roll of Drum, an homage to the 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War.
A non-stop musician, he also serves as the choirmaster and organist at St. George's Episcopal Church in Bossier City, LA.