St. Louis Symphony Youth Orchestra

Spring Concert

📍 This event takes place at Powell Hall

Friday, Apr 2, 2027, 7:30pm Get Tickets

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Program

Samuel Hollister, conductor
Zoe Baldwin, violin

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto
Germaine Tailleferre Petite Suite
Igor Stravinsky The Firebird Suite (1919 version)

About this Concert

The St. Louis Symphony Youth Orchestra and Music Director Samuel Hollister take the stage for a concert full of playful charm and dramatic flair. The program begins with Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto, full of soaring melodies and dazzling solos, performed by the 2027 Concerto Competition winner and YO Co-Concertmaster Zoe Baldwin. Germaine Tailleferre’s Petite Suite brings a lighter touch with three contrasting movements—from the delicate sounds of the opening Prélude to the graceful Sicilienne and the lively folk-inspired finale. The concert concludes with Stravinsky’s The Firebird Suite (1919), inspired by the famous Russian folk tale. From mysterious, atmospheric moments to energetic dances and the triumphant finale, this iconic work brings the YO’s second performance of the season to an exciting close.

- Igor Stravinsky originally composed his landmark 1910 The Firebird for Sergei Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes’ ballet. Stravinsky later rearranged the score into shorter, condensed concert suites, with the 1919 version remaining the most frequently performed.
- In the tale of the Firebird, Prince Ivan arrives at the garden of the evil wizard Kashchei the Deathless. There, he discovers the brilliant, magical Firebird, as well as thirteen princesses being held captive by Kaschei. Ivan falls in love with the youngest, and with the Firebird’s help, he defeats the wizard and frees the prisoners.
- Youth Orchestra Co-Concertmaster Zoe Baldwin is a senior at Clayton High School and the 2027 YO Concerto Competition winner. A five-year YO member, Baldwin studies with SLSO violinist Joo Kim and is an accomplished soloist and chamber musician, as well as a founding member of the award-winning Lyra Quartet.

Artists

Meet the people that make the music.

Special Thanks

Youth Orchestra programs are presented by the Tynewald Foundation and supported in part by the G.A., Jr. and Kathryn M. Buder Charitable Foundation and the ESCO Technologies Foundation.