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Celebrating the Voices of the St. Louis Symphony Chorus

On April 11, it was all about the St. Louis Symphony Chorus. In a special concert that featured the talents of the 100+-person Chorus, A Celebration of Voice showcased the breath and variety of vocal music. Led by Erin Freeman, Director of the Chorus, the hourlong performance traversed a wide range of music, from Baroque-era masterpieces to contemporary creations by some of today’s leading composers.

Freeman introduced the music with grace and humor, welcoming pianist and Chorus manager Gail Hintz to the stage for the first piece, O Guiding Night by Roderick Williams. This concert was somewhat of a preview of the 2025/26 season, when the orchestra and its two Choruses return to a renovated and expanded Powell Hall. Each of the works on the program was created by a composer whose music figures in the upcoming season.

Members of the SLSO joined for the conclusion of the program on works by Handel, Mozart, and Beethoven.
Erin Freeman led the concert.
The Chorus was founded nearly 50 years ago, during the tenure of Music Director Jerzy Semkow.
Orchestra and Chorus members face the audience at the Touhill Performing Arts Center and the University of Missouri–St. Louis.
Soprano Leann Schuering was a featured soloists in Maurice Ravel’s “Three beautiful birds of paradise.”
Gail Hintz, accompanist and Chorus Manager, takes a bow.
Mezzo-sopranos sing “Lenten in come,” a piece by Benjamin Britten that required performance in Middle English.
Kate Reimann, left, and Laurel Dantas were step-out soloists for the finale, “Gloria Patri” from G.F. Handel’s Dixit Dominus.
Chorus members sing Mozart’s Ave verum corpus.
Erin Freeman, who began her tenure as Chorus Director with the 2024/25 season, leads O Guiding Night by Roderick Williams.

Included in the line-up was Kevin Puts‘ If I Were A Swan, a showpiece that showed the virtuosity of the Chorus. Puts will be the composer in residence for the 25/26 season, with four works appearing across four classical programs.

Several Chorus members took center stage as soloists during pieces by Maurice Ravel, G.F. Handel, and Reena Esmail, whose music called for vocal performances in the traditional Hindustani style.

Joining the concert was a nonet of St. Louis Symphony Orchestra musicians, performing alongside the Chorus for selections by Mozart, Beethoven, and Handel.

Photos by Phillip Hamer.

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