This morning, the ºüÀêÊÓƵ Symphony Orchestra announced the schedule for its 2024-25 season; its 145th overall and sixth with Stéphane Denève as music director.
While the renovation and expansion of Powell Hall continues, the SLSO will once again perform its concerts at other area venues, including Stifel Theatre downtown, the Touhill Performing Arts Center on the campus of the University of Missouri-ºüÀêÊÓƵ and Lindenwood University’s J. Scheidegger Center for Performing Arts in St. Charles.
The season begins with the orchestra’s traditional Forest Park concert on Sept. 19 and runs through May 9, 2025.
Either because of or despite the SLSO being out of its traditional digs, the season’s programming will explore the notion of home as well as the theme of new perspectives gained through traveling.
“For me, that’s very meaningful because ºüÀêÊÓƵ is my home now,†Denève says. (He and his family moved here prior to the 2022-23 season). He also notes that Kiel Opera House — today’s Stifel Theatre — housed the orchestra from 1934-68 and “was our home before our home†— which is to say Powell Hall.
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The music planned for 24-25 will “speak about a lot of journeys, bringing you to different places, (questioning) where are your roots? What do you feel are your roots?†he says.
One of the pieces addressing those ideas is a theatrical version of Edvard Grieg’s “Peer Gynt,†an adaptation of Henrik Ibsen’s play about a man traveling from Norway to Africa and back. It is written and directed by Bill Barclay and featuring actors from Concert Theatre Works. Other works include the U.S. premiere of Guillaume Connesson’s “Lost Horizon†violin concerto; a program of pieces that Mozart composed in London, Italy and France; and even an orchestral accompaniment to the film “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial†conducted by Denève, who is great friends with the film score’s famed composer, John Williams.
The SLSO will perform the world premieres of two commissioned pieces: Anna Clyne’s “Palette†and Nina Shekhar’s accordion concerto, plus the U.S. premiere of an SLSO co-commission, Magnus Lindberg’s viola concerto. Other U.S. premieres include the Connesson piece, and Daniel Slatkin’s “130.†Composers of pieces making their SLSO debut include Mason Bates, Gabriela Lena Frank, Detlev Glanert and Kevin Puts, among others.
Denève stresses the many premieres and pieces by contemporary composers is in keeping with his and the orchestra’s commitment to music of our time. “It’s important for people that are our most loyal audience to know that there are a lot of new pieces and that they will not have the same repertoire repeated over and over,†he says.
There will, of course, be works from the classical canon as well, including Denève conducting Berlioz’s “Symphonie fantastique,†Mahler’s Symphony No. 1, Tchaikovsky’s “Romeo and Juliet Overture-Fantasy,†Ravel’s “Bolero†and Mozart’s “Requiem†— the first time Denève has had the opportunity to conduct it.
That concert and others will feature the ºüÀêÊÓƵ Symphony Chorus, which has yet to name a successor to director Amy Kaiser, who retired in 2022. The In Unison Chorus, directed by Kevin McBeth, will perform its traditional Christmas program (this year with guest artist Take 6) as well as its annual Black History Month Celebration, “Lift Every Voice.â€
A special program in October will celebrate the legacy and 80th birthday of SLSO Conductor Laureate Leonard Slatkin, who will conduct music by his wife, Cindy McTee, and son, Daniel Slatkin, as well as his own arrangement of Scarlatti’s “Five Sonatas for Orchestral Wind Ensemble.â€
Among the conductors returning to the SLSO podium are Opera Theatre of ºüÀêÊÓƵ Principal Conductor Daniela Candillari, whose OTSL contract was recently extended through 2028, and Gemma New, who served as SLSO assistant conductor from 2016-2020. Others include David Danzmayr, Jonathon Heyward, Hannu Lintu, Cristian Măcelaru and John StorgÃ¥rds.
Among the artists returning to perform with the orchestra are pianists Behzod Abduraimov, Saleem Ashkar, Kirill Gerstein, Nikolai Lugansky, and Conrad Tao; violinists James Ehnes, Gil Shaham, Akiko Suwanai, and Christian Tetzlaff; and vocalists Dashon Burton, Sasha Cooke, Joélle Harvey, Kelley O’Connor, Susanna Phillips, Michael Spyres, and Camilla Tilling.
Those making their debut SLSO performances include conductors David Afkham, Patrick Dupré Quigley, and Ruth Reinhardt; pianist Yeol Eum Son; Harding fiddle player Vidar Skrede; violist Lawrence Power; cellist Andrei Ioniță; accordionist Hanzhi Wang; and vocalists Ben Bliss, Brandon Cedel, and Jamez McCorkle.
The orchestra’s “Live at the Pulitzer†series will return for its 21st season, as will the Live at the Sheldon chamber-music series, which debuted this year.
There will also be additional community, film, family and holiday programming.
“We really have music for everybody,†Denève says.
Spending a second year outside of Powell Hall is perhaps not as daunting as was the first. “I have to say there were some worries about the audiences that love Powell; to know if they would follow us and be loyal during this time,†Denève says. “And not only have they been loyal, the attendance at our concerts has been really, really beautiful.â€
“We feel the love of the community and we feel the love of that audience,†says SLSO President and CEO Marie-Hélène Bernard. “And we’re seeing a lot of new people. So that’s been fantastic.â€
Bernard adds that the Powell renovation and expansion is progressing nicely. “You’re starting to see the shape of the expansion,†she says. “Inside, they have prepped the floor to be installed and the seats will be installed in the spring of ’25. All of the demo is done, and they’re working on the offices (upstairs). From the outside perspective, the backstage extension is done and the education and learning center and lobby are beginning to take shape.â€
A date for the reopening of Powell has not yet been announced.
Returning to the 2024-25 season, the orchestra’s media partnerships will remain the same. Select Saturday night concerts will continue to be broadcast by 90.7 KWMU and Classic 107.3 and streamed by ºüÀêÊÓƵ Public Radio.
A full schedule of the 2024-25 season, ticket information and more is available at .