Playlist Concerts: 5 things to know about the symphony’s happy hour series
By Eric Dundon
The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra (SLSO) is reimagining what a symphony concert can be. As part of its milestone 2025/26 season—and its return to the newly renovated Powell Hall at the Jack C. Taylor Music Center—the orchestra, led by Music Director Stéphane Denève, is launching an innovative new series that blends a symphonic concert with a casual, social experience. The Playlist: Symphony Happy Hour series begins on November 20, 2025, with the revolutionary music of Igor Stravinsky’s The Firebird, which helped define symphonic music in the 20th century and up to the present day.
Blending world-class music, storytelling, and social connection, Playlist concerts offer a welcoming, one-hour concert experience designed to make classical music accessible, lively, and fun. Held on Thursday nights at 6:30pm, the series revives and expands on Denève’s popular “Crafted” concerts, which debuted in 2019, bringing a renewed sense of discovery and community to the symphonic stage.
Here are five things to know about Playlist: Symphony Happy Hour.
A relaxed, welcoming concert experience
Playlist transforms Powell Hall into a festive gathering space, pairing symphonic performance with a happy-hour atmosphere complete with creative cocktails and mocktails. Denève’s goal: to make great music approachable to all.
“It’s about creating a space where everyone feels comfortable and inspired,” he said.
This casual, community-focused format invites new audiences to experience orchestral music in a way that feels social, spontaneous, and welcoming.
Music as storytelling
Each Playlist concert explores a musical narrative. The opening program features Igor Stravinsky’s The Firebird—a brilliant work that encompasses myth, magic, and transformation.
Denève believes that connecting music to storylines helps audiences hear more vividly.
“Music is a universal story,” he said. “When we find the narrative, we find the heart of it.”
Learning through enjoyment
Denève describes the series as “edutainment”—where education and enjoyment meet. Through short, conversational introductions and musical examples, audiences learn how composers create emotion and texture. Guests don’t need prior musical training to feel connected; curiosity is all that’s required.
“Understanding deepens pleasure,” Denève explained. “And sometimes, just a few words can transform how someone hears a piece of music.”
Denève and Assistant Conductor Samuel Hollister—who leads the January 15 Playlist concert featuring Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony—will act as guides for the selected pieces.
“It’s a bit like when you have audio guides in a museum,” Denève said. “You learn something and you feel richer with knowledge.”
Meet the musicians behind the music
After each concert, guests are invited to mingle with SLSO musicians both in historic Powell Hall spaces and the new spacious Berges Family Foundation Lobby. The post-concert gatherings encourage casual conversation between performers and audience members—creating meaningful, personal connections.
Denève believes these moments are key to the SLSO’s mission: showing that the orchestra’s musicians are not only extraordinary artists, but also approachable, passionate people who love sharing their craft.
Local flavor meets musical flair
The November 20 kickoff concert will feature the debut of a signature SLSO beer, the Symphony Helles Lager, created with Perennial Artisan Ales and available only at Powell Hall. This small-batch craft brew joins a menu of specialty cocktails developed by the orchestra’s new culinary team. The collaboration adds a distinctly local touch to an already immersive experience, celebrating the city’s creative spirit through music, community, and flavor. Each Playlist concert will offer specialty items created with the music in mind.
A new kind of symphonic experience
For Music Director Stéphane Denève, Playlist is more than a concert—it’s an invitation to rediscover the orchestra in a relaxed and joyful way. Set against the stunning backdrop of the renovated Powell Hall, the series embodies the SLSO’s mission to make world-class music part of everyday life in St. Louis.
The first Playlist: Symphony Happy Hour concert takes place Thursday, November 20, at 6:30pm, featuring Stravinsky’s The Firebird conducted by Denève. Additional Playlist concerts feature Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony (January 15, 2026) and the music of John Williams (March 19, 2026). Tickets and details about future concerts are available at slso.org.
Eric Dundon is the SLSO’s Public Relations Director.
