The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra is closing out Black History Month by lifting up the legacy, brilliance, and global impact of Black music on two consecutive nights at Powell Hall.
On Friday, February 27, the annual Lift Every Voice: Black History Month Celebration returns under the direction of Kevin McBeth, featuring the St. Louis Symphony IN UNISON Chorus and the SLSO debut of mezzo‑soprano Imara Ashton Miles. The next evening, the orchestra pivots from gospel and choral traditions to jazz with Coltrane 100: Legacy, a one‑night tribute to saxophone icon John Coltrane curated and arranged by composer Carlos Simon.
For more than 30 years, the IN UNISON Chorus has served as a cultural bridge between the SLSO and St. Louis’ Black community. Their annual Lift Every Voice concert has become a February tradition—one that honors the spiritual, gospel, and choral traditions that shaped Black St. Louis.
This year’s featured soloist, Imara Ashton Miles, steps into that legacy with a voice praised for its “expressiveness and lush sound.” A rising star with credits from Opera Theatre of Saint Louis to Houston Grand Opera, Miles replaces Rosephanye Dunn Powell, who withdrew for personal reasons. The concert will instead honor Powell’s contributions as a composer whose work draws deeply from the African diaspora.
If Friday’s program honors the roots, Saturday’s Coltrane 100: Legacy honors the revolution.
John Coltrane’s influence on American music is immeasurable—but his connection to this region runs straight through one of East St. Louis’ most famous sons: Miles Davis.
Coltrane joined Davis’ first great quintet in the mid‑1950s, and the two pushed each other into new artistic territory. Davis often spoke about the power and precision Coltrane brought to the band. “Trane was the most important saxophonist since Charlie Parker,” Davis wrote in Miles: The Autobiography, co‑written with St. Louis native Quincy Troupe. “He was a great musician, a great artist.”
That partnership helped shape albums like Milestones and Kind of Blue, works that still define modern jazz.
Coltrane’s legacy returns to St. Louis through newly orchestrated arrangements by Carlos Simon, performed by the SLSO and featuring Grammy‑winning saxophonist Joe Lovano. The program spans Coltrane’s early Prestige years through his 1960s spiritual explorations, offering a rare orchestral lens on his evolution—one sharpened, in part, through the genius he forged alongside an East St. Louis icon.
The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra IN UNISON Chorus Lift Every Voice: Black History Month Celebration with guest soloist Imara Ashton Miles will take place at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, February 27 at Powell Symphony Hall. For tickets or additional information, visit www.slso.org or call 314.534.1700.
The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra’s presentation of Coltrane 100: Legacy will take place at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, February 28, 7:30 p.m. at Powell Symphony Hall. For tickets or additional information, visit www.slso.org or call 314.534.1700.