A Choral Celebration: 50 Years of the St. Louis Symphony Chorus

By Iain Shaw

The 2026/27 season marks the 50th anniversary of the St. Louis Symphony Chorus, with the ensemble ready to demonstrate its radiant sound and versatility across a variety of programs and other celebratory events throughout the year ahead. Throughout its 2026/27 season, the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra celebrates this milestone anniversary, including Chorus performances on nine different SLSO programs and culminating in an anniversary celebration concert on May 2.

“Since its founding, the Symphony Chorus has flourished along with our orchestra, pushing the boundaries of the traditional repertoire while championing new works,” said Marie-Hélène Bernard, SLSO President and CEO. “Exceptional artistry, combined with each individual singer’s commitment, has elevated our ensemble to new heights and stands as a testament to the Chorus’ impact in the national arts landscape and the timeless power of vocal music.”

Founded in 1976 by then-SLSO Music Director Jerzy Semkow, the SLSC is primarily a volunteer ensemble of musicians of all ages and musical backgrounds from throughout the St. Louis region. Together with the St. Louis Symphony IN UNISON Chorus, the SLSC is an equal partner with the orchestra, regularly performing choral-orchestral repertoire from across genre and time, from liturgical music to orchestral masterworks, and works from the Baroque to musical theater and beyond.

Several generations of Chorus members have performed alongside the SLSO, including world premieres of works by composers like Meredith Monk and Kevin Puts, film and holiday concerts, and landmark achievements such as the Chorus’ Carnegie Hall performance of Benjamin Britten’s Peter Grimes in 2013.

“That was definitely the highlight of my musical career,” said Brian Pezza, who joined the SLSC shortly after relocating to St. Louis in 2008.

Audiences at Powell Hall have come to expect and appreciate the exceptional standards of artistry that have earned the Chorus four Grammy Award nominations to date.

The SLSC’s anniversary season kicks off in very different concerts. The anniversary season began at the orchestra’s annual concert in Forest Park on September 16, when a full Chorus made of members from the St. Louis Symphony Chorus and the St. Louis Symphony IN UNISON Chorus joined the orchestra for the first time on Art Hill since SLSO concerts began there in 1968. On November 1, the SLSO’s Extra Credit concert expands its scope with a special edition focused on choral educators. Since 2017, Extra Credit has honored the vital role educators play in cultivating new musicians and music lovers by inviting music teachers to perform with SLSO musicians. The Extra Credit Choral Concert welcomes choral educators to perform with members of not only the SLSO but also the SLSC and the IN UNISON Chorus. 

On November 14–15, the SLSC joins the SLSO and guest conductor  David Afkham for performances of Felix Mendelssohn’s beautiful setting of Psalm 114 (When Israel out of Egypt Came) and Igor Stravinsky’s daring Symphony of Psalms. These concerts will offer a taste of the rest of the SLSC’s season, which includes performances of works like Maurice Ravel’s L’enfant et les sortilèges (The Child and the Spells), Joseph Haydn’s Missa in angustiis (Mass for Troubled Times), Francis Poulenc’s Gloria, and Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 3. 

Erin Freeman, now in her third season as Director of the St. Louis Symphony Chorus, said the programming itself sends an important message. By weaving the ensemble into a series of concerts throughout the season, rather than one or two signature performances, the SLSO demonstrates that “the Chorus is an important piece of the entire fabric of the organization,” she said.  

Known for its nimbleness and virtuosity, the Chorus has performed well over 200 major pieces since its founding, representing more than three centuries of music, ranging from popular choral-orchestral showpieces like G.F. Handel’s Messiah, Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, and Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana, to world premieres including St. Louis composer Adam Maness’ Divides That Bind and Kevin Puts’ House of Tomorrow, which inaugurated the renovated Powell Hall and new Jack C. Taylor Music Center at the SLSO’s Opening Weekend in September 2025. Its performances have included pieces sung in Latin, Russian, Hungarian, Italian, French, German, Hebrew, and other languages.

One distinguishing detail of the Symphony Chorus—and its counterpart, the IN UNISON Chorus—is that it is largely volunteer-based. Members are teachers, lawyers, business leaders, students, healthcare workers, and retirees. When they gather at Powell Hall for rehearsals on Tuesday evenings, many of them are coming straight from work, carrying scores marked up at kitchen tables and in living rooms across the region.

“You have a group of people who, from nine to five, are doing something completely different,” Freeman said. “This is their outlet. They take it seriously, and they devote themselves to it.”

For Chorus members, Freeman added, “Tuesday night is the moment where they turn off their cell phones and dive headfirst into these difficult works.”

Members have to regularly audition to retain their place in the Chorus, with the next generation of members knocking at the door.

Pezza’s 16-year-old son, Graham, is one of the most recent recruits.

“We were at a concert, and he saw that there were auditions for the Symphony Chorus and just said, ‘Can I audition? Is there an age limit?’” Pezza said. “I was very surprised, but I said, ‘Just sign up and see what happens.’ He got ready and worked on it, and apparently did a great job.”

The ultimate test for members of the SLSO’s choruses comes when they take the stage alongside the SLSO. “When we get out there, we feel every bit of the obligation to the performance,” Pezza said. “We feel the same commitment to the vision of the conductor.” 

The father-son duo are two of hundreds of people who have sung in the SLSC over the years. Despite having a large roster of alumni, the SLSC has had only three directors since its founding: Thomas Peck (1976–1994), Amy Kaiser (1995–2022), and Erin Freeman (2024–present). Each director has sharpened the group’s reputation for exceptional artistry, with critical acclaim describing the ensemble as “impressive” (The New York Times) and “magnificent” (St. Louis Post-Dispatch), and that it “sang with soul” (Los Angeles Times), and “decisiveness and élan” (Musical America).

Freeman said that the SLSC’s artistry is characterized by an instinct to use every performance and every piece of music to inform what the ensemble tackles next.

“I think it’s really exciting to be able to build on what others before me have created,” Freeman said. “My goal is to look at everything we have over the season and use that to make us a better Chorus for the next season…. It’s always about leveling up.”

Freeman is also keen to acknowledge the legacy of those who came before. The SLSC’s 26/27 season performances are not just the work of the more than 100 musicians of the Chorus but the cumulative result of the efforts of every singer who has ever contributed to the ensemble, building a community, a culture, and a legacy that has helped to shape the SLSO over the past half-century—and for generations to come. 

Acting as an ambassador not just for the SLSO but for all of St. Louis arts, the Chorus has also performed at the St. Louis Cathedral Basilica, the Fabulous Fox Theatre, Siteman Cancer Center, Queeny Park, and Busch Stadium, singing the National Anthem in the 1982 World Series. On tour, the Chorus has performed eleven programs at New York’s Carnegie Hall. The SLSO’s 1978 recording of Sergei Prokofiev’s Alexander Nevsky, nominated for a Grammy Award, is one of 12 commercial recordings featuring the Chorus.

Iain Shaw is the SLSO’s Publications Manager.