St. Louis Symphony Orchestra facts for kids
Quick facts for kids St. Louis Symphony Orchestra |
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Powell Hall home of the St. Louis Symphony
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| Founded | 1880 |
| Concert hall | Powell Hall |
| Principal conductor | Stéphane Denève |
The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra (SLSO) is a famous American symphony orchestra. It is based in St. Louis, Missouri. Joseph Otten started it in 1880 as the St. Louis Choral Society. The SLSO is the second-oldest professional symphony orchestra in the United States. Only the New York Philharmonic is older. Their main place to perform is Powell Hall, in the middle of St. Louis.
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History of the St. Louis Symphony
The St. Louis Choral Society first performed at the St. Louis Mercantile Library. This was in downtown St. Louis. By 1881, an orchestra of 31 musicians joined the 80-member chorus.
In 1893, the group officially became the St. Louis Choral-Symphony. They performed at the 1904 World's Fair with a large chorus and orchestra. Later, under Max Zach, they changed their name to the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra.
Concert Halls and Tours
Before moving to Powell Hall, the SLSO played for many years at the Kiel Opera House. The orchestra often performs at Carnegie Hall in New York. They have also traveled to Europe and Japan for concerts.
The St. Louis Symphony has made many recordings. They have won seven Grammy Awards and been nominated 58 times! Since 1978, the SLSO has also been the main orchestra for Opera Theatre of Saint Louis. The St. Louis Symphony Chorus, started in 1977, also performs with them.
Growth and Challenges
The orchestra became very famous when Leonard Slatkin was their music director. This was from 1979 to 1996. During this time, they made many recordings and toured around the world.
However, the orchestra faced money problems in the early 2000s. They worked hard to raise funds and manage their costs. Musicians even agreed to shorter work seasons and lower pay to help.
In 2005, there was a disagreement between the musicians and the management. This caused concerts to be cancelled for two months. After talks, they reached an agreement, and the musicians returned to playing.
David Robertson became the music director from 2005 to 2018. During his time, the orchestra started broadcasting its Saturday night concerts live. They also performed at The Proms in London for the first time in 2012.
The orchestra worked to get more people to their concerts. They added new types of shows, like "Live at Powell Hall." These efforts helped increase ticket sales and bring in new fans.
In 2017, Stéphane Denève was chosen as the next music director. He officially started in the 2019-2020 season. His contract has been extended through the 2025-2026 season.
Awards and Recognition
The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra has won nine Grammy Awards. They have also received 60 nominations from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.
| Year | Category | Works | Conductor | Additional Nominees | Result |
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| 1978 | Best Classical Performance - Choral | Prokofiev: Alexander Nevsky | Leonard Slatkin | Thomas Peck, Chorus director | Nominated |
| Best Engineered Recording - Classical | Marc Aubort, Joanna Nickrenz | ||||
| Best Classical Performance - Orchestra | Rachmaninoff: Symphony No. 1 | Nominated | |||
| 1979 | Best Classical Performance - Orchestra | Rachmaninoff: Symphony Nos. 2 & 3 | Leonard Slatkin | Nominated | |
| Best Engineered Recording - Classical | Marc Aubort, Joanna Nickrenz | ||||
| Classical Producer of the Year | Rachmaninoff: Symphony No. 3 | Marc Aubort, Joanna Nickrenz | Nominated | ||
| Best Classical Performance - Choral | Beethoven: "Choral Fantasy," "Elegiac Song," "Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage" | Jerzy Semkow | Thomas Peck, Chorus director | Nominated | |
| 1980 | Classical Producer of the Year | Bizet: Carmen Suites 1 and 2; Grieg: Peer Gynt Suites 1 and 2 | Leonard Slatkin | Robert Woods | Won |
| 1981 | Best Classical Performance - Choral | Prokofiev: Music from the films, Ivan the Terrible | Leonard Slatkin | Thomas Peck, Chorus director | Nominated |
| 1982 | Best Classical Performance - Orchestra | Debussy: La Mer, Prelude a l'apres midi d'un Faune, Danses Sacre et Profane | Leonard Slatkin | Nominated | |
| Best Classical Album | |||||
| Classical Producer of the Year | Robert Woods | Won | |||
| Best Classical Performance - Choral | Rachmaninoff: The Bells, "Three Russian Songs" | Thomas Peck, Chorus director | Nominated | ||
| 1983 | Best Classical Orchestral Recording | Del Tredici: In Memory of a Summer Day (Child Alice, Part 1) | Leonard Slatkin | Nominated | |
| Best Engineered Recording - Classical | Marc Aubort | ||||
| Classical Producer of the Year | Marc Aubort, Joanna Nickrenz | Won | |||
| 1984 | Best Classical Orchestral Recording | Prokofiev: Symphony No. 5 | Leonard Slatkin | Won | |
| Best Engineered Recording - Classical | Paul Goodman | ||||
| Best Classical Album | Nominated | ||||
| Classical Producer of the Year | Jay David Saks | ||||
| 1985 | Best Classical Album | Prokofiev: Cinderella Suite | Leonard Slatkin | Nominated | |
| Best Classical Orchestral Recording | |||||
| Best Engineered Recording - Classical | Paul Goodman | ||||
| Classical Producer of the Year | Prokofiev: Cinderella Suite; Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker | Jay David Saks | Nominated | ||
| Best Engineered Recording - Classical | Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker | Paul Goodman, Thomas MacCluskey | Nominated | ||
| 1986 | Best Classical Album | Copland: Billy the Kid and Rodeo | Leonard Slatkin | Nominated | |
| Best Classical Orchestral Recording | |||||
| Best Engineered Recording - Classical | Marc Aubort | ||||
| Classical Producer of the Year | Marc Aubort, Joanna Nickrenz | ||||
| Classical Producer of the Year | Shostakovich: Symphony No. 5 | Jay David Saks | Nominated | ||
| 1987 | Best Classical Album | Hanson: Symphony No. 2, "Romantic"; Barber: Violin Concerto | Leonard Slatkin | Nominated | |
| Best Classical Orchestral Recording | Hanson: Symphony No. 2, "Romantic" | ||||
| Best Classical Performance - Instrumental Soloist with Orchestra | Barber: Violin Concerto | Elmar Oliveira, violin | |||
| Best Contemporary Composition | Schwantner: A Sudden Rainbow | Nominated | |||
| Classical Producer of the Year | Brahms: Serenade No. 1; Shostakovich: Symphony No. 10 | Jay David Saks | Nominated | ||
| 1988 | Best Classical Orchestral Recording | Copland: Appalachian Spring | Leonard Slatkin | Nominated | |
| Classical Producer of the Year | Joanna Nickrenz | ||||
| Best Contemporary Composition | Bolcom: Symphony No. 4 | Joan Morris, mezzo-soprano | Nominated | ||
| 1989 | Best Classical Performance - Instrumental Soloist with Orchestra | Schuman: Violin Concerto; Bernstein: Serenade | Leonard Slatkin | Robert McDuffie, violin | Nominated |
| Classical Producer of the Year | Patti Laursen | ||||
| 1990 | Best Classical Orchestral Recording | Shostakovich: Symphony No. 8 | Leonard Slatkin | Nominated | |
| Best Engineered Recording - Classical | William Hoekstra | ||||
| 1991 | Best Classical Album | Barber: Symphony No. 1 and Piano Concerto | Leonard Slatkin | Nominated | |
| Best Classical Performance - Instrumental Soloist with Orchestra | John Browning, piano | Won | |||
| Best Engineered Recording - Classical | William Hoekstra | Nominated | |||
| Best Orchestral Performance | Copland: Symphony No. 3 | Nominated | |||
| Best Classical Performance - Instrumental Soloist with Orchestra | Bartok: Violin/Viola Concertos | Pinchas Zuckerman, violin | Nominated | ||
| 1992 | Best Classical Orchestral Recording | Schuman: Symphony No. 10, New England Triptych, American Festival Overture, Variations on America (orch. Ives) | Leonard Slatkin | Nominated | |
| 1993 | Best Orchestral Performance | Ives: Symphony No. 3 | Leoanrd Slatkin | Nominated | |
| Best Contemporary Composition | Erb: Concerto for Brass and Orchestra | Nominated | |||
| 1994 | Best Engineered Recording - Classical | Bartok: The Miraculous Mandarin and Concerto for Orchestra | Leonard Slatkin | William Hoekstra | Nominated |
| Best Engineered Recording - Classical | Copland: Music for Films | William Hoekstra | Won | ||
| 1995 | Best Engineered Recording - Classical | Anderson: The Typewriter: Leroy Anderson Favorites | Leonard Slaktin | William Hoekstra | Nominated |
| Best Engineered Recording - Classical | Orff: Carmina Burana | William Hoekstra | Nominated | ||
| 1996 | Best Classical Album | Copland: Dance Symphony, Short Symphony, Organ Symphony | Leonard Slatkin | Nominated | |
| Best Engineered Recording - Classical | Lawrence Rock, Williams Hoekstra | ||||
| Classical Producer of the Year | Joanna Nickrenz | Won | |||
| 2015 | Best Orchestral Performance | Adams: City Noir and Saxophone Concerto | David Robertson | Tim McAllister, saxophone | Won |
| Best Engineered Album - Classical | Richard King | Nominated | |||
| 2016 | Best Classical Instrumental Solo | Adams: Scheherazade.2 | David Robertson | Leila Josefowicz, violin | Nominated |
St. Louis Symphony Youth Orchestra
Leonard Slatkin started the St. Louis Symphony Youth Orchestra in 1970. The assistant conductor of the main orchestra also leads the Youth Orchestra. Many talented conductors have led this group. In 2020, Stephanie Childress was named the next assistant conductor and music director for the Youth Orchestra. She started in the 2021-2022 season.
Chorus Ensembles
The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra has two main singing groups: the St. Louis Symphony Chorus and the IN UNISON Chorus.
St. Louis Symphony Chorus
The St. Louis Symphony Chorus was founded in 1976. It performs in major concerts throughout the season. They often sing in choral symphonies, which are symphonies that include a choir. Amy Kaiser was their director for many years.
IN UNISON Chorus
The IN UNISON Chorus started in 1994. This group performs many different types of music. They mostly focus on music from African-American and African cultures, like gospel music. They also work with several churches in the St. Louis area. Kevin McBeth is the current director of the IN UNISON Chorus. The group celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2018-2019.
Holiday Festival Chorus
The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra also has a Holiday Festival Chorus. This group is made up of high school singers from the St. Louis area. They perform at holiday concerts each year.
Music Directors
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See also
In Spanish: Orquesta Sinfónica de San Luis para niños
