How the SLSO Champions the Music of Tomorrow
By Eric Dundon
The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra has a deep history of introducing new music to the symphonic repertoire. The orchestra has given the world or U.S. premieres of many pieces throughout its 145-year history, from fanfares and concertos to pieces for full orchestra and chamber music. Many of those works have received universal acclaim (like the David Del Tredici’s Pulitzer Prize-winning In Memory of a Summer Day) or ascended to a prominent place in the symphonic repertoire (like Erich Wolfgang Korngold’s Violin Concerto). In the 2024/2025, the SLSO performs works by more than two dozen living composers, anchoring performances of music of today and tomorrow across its programming.
The SLSO brings music from the minds of today’s composers to the concert hall in several ways. In recent years, this includes:
- Commissions of significant new works by Kevin Puts, James Lee III, Stacy Garrop, and others;
- Giving the U.S. premieres of music by Anna Clyne, Guillaume Connesson, Hannah Eisendle, Helen Grime, and others;
- Prioritizing performances of music created recently; and
- Embarking on an innovative partnership with the Mizzou New Music Initiative at the University of Missouri, yielding the first performances of symphonic and chamber music by emerging composers.
“Nurturing the voices of living composers and ensuring that music we commission, both in the past and today, takes hold is central to the SLSO’s mission. This philosophy, going back 145 years, has always been part of the SLSO’s DNA,” said Marie-Hélène Bernard, SLSO President and CEO. “We believe that symphonic music is a living artform, and there are many outstanding composer voices that deserve performances. Our commissioning strategy and our commitment to living composers is an active component of our programming.”
With that philosophy in mind, the SLSO’s artistic team alongside Music Director Stéphane Denève plans a profile of newer works, premieres, and commissions years in advance. It often starts with relationships—a belief in a composer’s voice that leads to investment in a new work or a commitment to bring to St. Louis a work commissioned by others. Throughout Denève’s tenure, audiences will have noticed some composer names appear multiple times. His belief in these artists have produced multiple performances with their work. This includes composers like Kevin Puts, Jessie Montgomery, Nathalie Joachim, Detlev Glanet, Guillaume Connesson, James Lee III, and Jennifer Higdon.
Many of these composers have had their pieces performed more than once, like Anna Clyne’s Within Her Arms.
Following premieres by the SLSO, the institution makes plan to revisit many pieces in future seasons, committing not only to the commission or a first performance, but to repeat performances that turn new music into regular symphonic repertoire.
In January and February 2025, the SLSO will add to its portfolio two works commissioned by the institution:
- Nina Shekhar’s Accordion Concerto (world premiere January 10-11), a spotlight for an unconventional instrument rarely seen accompanied by a full orchestra
- Anna Clyne’s PALETTE, a Concerto for Orchestra (world premiere February 14-15), a 35-minute virtuosic showpiece for the entire orchestra that explores the intersection of color, light, and music. This work is part of a series of concertos for orchestra commissioned by the SLSO in recent years, starting with Kevin Puts’ Concerto for Orchestra, premiered in 2023, which the orchestra will bring back in the newly renovated Powell Hall in a future season.
Eric Dundon is the SLSO’s Public Relations Director.
