Beethoven’s Pastoral

Reflections of Home

📍 This event takes place at Powell Hall

Friday, Oct 30, 2026, 10:30am View Subscriptions Saturday, Oct 31, 2026, 7:30pm View Subscriptions

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Program

Stéphane Denève, conductor
Julia Bullock, soprano

George Walker Folksongs for Orchestra
Samuel Barber Knoxville: Summer of 1915
Ludwig van Beethoven Symphony No. 6, “Pastoral”

About this Concert

The sun’s warmth on your front porch. The burble of a nearby stream. The crackling energy of a summer storm. Feel the pull of nostalgia, wonder, and melancholy in works by George Walker, Samuel Barber, and Ludwig van Beethoven. Joined by soprano and St. Louis native Julia Bullock—winner of the 2024 Grammy Award for Best Classical Solo Vocal Album—the SLSO performs Barber’s poignant, brooding reverie on childhood alongside Beethoven’s sublime Pastoral Symphony.

- Born and raised in St. Louis, Julia Bullock began her advanced vocal training as a high school student at the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis. Among many accolades, her solo album, Walking in the Dark, earned recognition in the New York Times’s list of Best Classical Music Tracks and was named one of NPR’s Ten Best Classical Albums of 2022.
- A simple line of the text—“rocking gently and talking gently”—offers a perfect glimpse into Samuel Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915, inspired by a collection of childhood memories by writer James Agee.
- In a 2012 video interview for State of the Arts—New Jersey, George Walker admitted: “When I went to the Curtis Institute and decided to study composition…it was primarily because I had so much energy and the idea of spending just 5 hours practicing piano…what else am I going to do?”

Artists

Meet the people that make the music.

Stéphane Denève

Conductor

Julia Bullock

Soprano

Musicians of the SLSO

Special Thanks

Presented by the Whitaker Foundation
Coffee Concert Series Supported by EverTrue
Friday morning complimentary refreshments courtesy of Kaldi’s Coffee Roasting Co. and Eddie’s Southtown Donuts