St. Louis Symphony Orchestra celebrates the contributions of retiring musician, cellist Alvin McCall

(June 10, 2026, St. Louis, MO) – The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra celebrates the career of cellist Alvin McCall, who has performed with the SLSO for 32 seasons, and is retiring at the conclusion of the 2025/26 season.

Stéphane Denève, Music Director of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, said,“All the family of the SLSO is so very grateful for all that Alvin has done for our wonderful orchestra and the St. Louis community throughout his extraordinary career. It has personally been a great joy to share the stage with Alvin, to discuss music with passion during rehearsals. I will miss him deeply and will always cherish his performance as the soloist in the Theme from Schindler’s List in our March 2022 concerts together. He leaves a special legacy with our orchestra, and we wish him well in this next chapter of life.

Alvin McCall, cello, joined the SLSO in the 1994/95 season, appointed by then-Music Director Leonard Slatkin. Since then, McCall has deeply invested in the orchestra’s education and community programs, participating in nearly every type of program offered by the SLSO. As a soloist, he has appeared with the Springfield (MO) Symphony, University City Symphony, Virginia Philharmonic, Moscow Academic Symphony Orchestra, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, and the SLSO. He most recently appeared as a soloist with the orchestra in performances of John Williams’ Theme from Schindler’s List in March 2022.

Prior to joining the SLSO, McCall served as the Principal Cello with ensembles including the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Prism Chamber Orchestra, Jupiter Orchestra, and the Naumberg Orchestra. In addition to his position in the SLSO, McCall has performed with the Festival Orchestra of Lincoln Center (formerly known as the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra) in New York City since 1986.

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