The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra — the second oldest symphony in the nation — will welcome audiences to experience the newly restored Powell Hall with the opening of their 146th season late this month.
After a nomadic period that included concerts and events at Stifel Theatre, The Fabulous Fox, the Touhill, Sheldon Concert Hall and more, SLSO will return to a new and improved home.
The opening of Powell Hall at the Jack C. Taylor Music Center on Sept. 26-28 will mark the culmination of a successful $150 million-plus fundraising campaign and the subsequent two-year transformational expansion and renovation project for the place SLSO has called home for more than 55 years. The famed venue turns 100 in November.
“The [original] building opened in 1925. It was no longer supporting the needs of audiences in the 21st century,” said SLSO President and CEO Marie-Hélène Bernard. “We made Powell Hall our venue in 1968. So, over the span of 50-plus years, the orchestra has evolved as an arts institution.”
Part of that evolution includes two choruses and a youth orchestra, along with exponential growth in education and community programming.
“We needed a space that was evolving to support these programming needs and audience expectations,” Bernard said.
The extreme makeover is the first major restoration venture at Powell since the 1960s. The $140 million project, designed by the internationally acclaimed architecture firm Snøhetta with local firm Christner Architects as the architect of record, centers the SLSO’s priorities on artistic excellence, community engagement and education leadership.
“It’s rather humbling to be an architect for a project like this,” Craig Dykers, Snøhetta’s lead architect for the Powell Symphony Hall expansion, said during a tour of the space last April. His firm’s portfolio includes the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the Shanghai Grand Opera House, to name a few.
The project provides new and improved amenities for audiences and artists, while preserving and enhancing the internationally recognized acoustics and aesthetics of the concert hall. A new Education and Learning Center provides additional space for the SLSO’s two resident choruses, its Youth Orchestra, and a robust portfolio of education and community programs. The 2025-26 season programming showcases the virtuosity and nimbleness of the orchestra musicians and guest artists and includes a wide variety of music, responding to the community’s diverse tastes and interests.
Led by Stéphane Denève in his seventh season as The Joseph and Emily Rauh Pulitzer Music Director, the SLSO’s Opening Weekend is Sept. 26-28 and will be anchored by a program that highlights the virtuosity of SLSO musicians. The public opening of the venue includes celebrations held within the transformed venue and also marks the start of award-winning composer Kevin Puts’ tenure as SLSO Composer in Residence.
Puts will participate in key initiatives, engage with audiences and join in education and learning opportunities with students and musicians in the St. Louis Symphony Youth Orchestra. He will visit the orchestra twice, in September and March.
Opening Weekend concerts are 10:30 a.m., Friday, Sept. 26; 7:30 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 27; and 3 p.m., Sunday, Sept. 28.
Denève and the SLSO reunite with Powell Hall in a celebration of the past, present, and future. They will be paying homage to the building’s historic place in St. Louis’ civic life while looking toward increased artistic, community, and educational opportunities within the expanded space.
Opening weekend concerts kick off with a trio of fanfares by Aaron Copland, Joan Tower — who served as an SLSO Composer in Residence in the 1980s — and the world premiere of James Lee III’s Fanfare for Universal Hope. The SLSO’s commission of Lee reflects the close artistic collaboration between the composer and orchestra during Denève’s tenure. Four of his pieces have been performed – including the world premiere of Visions of Cahokia in 2023, which was inspired by the local indigenous civilization. Multi-Grammy-Award-winning mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato and members of the St. Louis Symphony Chorus join the orchestra for the world premiere of a song cycle by Kevin Puts, House of Tomorrow. The work draws text and musical inspiration from the poetry of Khalil Gibran.
The concerts conclude with Richard Strauss’ Ein Heldenleben, telling a triumphant tale of adventure and accomplishment.
Reopening events
In addition to opening weekend concerts, special events and a vast range of concerts celebrate the opening of the Jack C. Taylor Music Center and honor the centennial of Powell Hall. Among them are a ribbon cutting on September 19, concerts from September 26-28, and a community open house on November 8.
These events will showcase the transformation of the venue, and invite guests to experience the grand and welcoming architecture of the new foyer and Education and Learning Center, as well as rediscover the magic that has made Powell Hall an internationally renowned concert hall.
“The orchestra is so well renowned that we feel our primary goal is to ensure that its life progresses into the future,” Dykers said. “The building is so iconic already that we wanted to work with that kind of character and build something that supported its identity while also looking forward into the future.”
For additional details about the 146th season and programming related to the reopening of Powell Symphony Hall, visit www.slso.org.