November at the St. Louis Symphony: Trifonov, Himari, John Goodman and America’s Birthday, and More
By Maddie Hurst
November at the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra moves from a young composer’s early promise to music shaped by war, from chamber works inspired by visual art to a celebration of America’s 250th anniversary. Along the way, audiences can hear pianist Daniil Trifonov and violinist Himari make their SLSO debuts and join local choral educators in a concert that puts their artistry at center stage.
Across these events, music offers different ways to gather: around a shared song, a vivid image, a familiar symphony or a story about the country we call home. Here are some highlights of November at the SLSO.
Extra Credit: A first for choral educators
The SLSO’s Extra Credit program invites local music educators to perform alongside professional musicians. On November 1, nearly 100 choral educators will take the stage with members of the St. Louis Symphony Chorus, the St. Louis Symphony IN UNISON Chorus and the orchestra for the program’s first concert devoted to choral music.
The music travels across centuries and styles, from W.A. Mozart and Giuseppe Verdi to Gwyneth Walker and Brandon Williams. Its range reflects the many traditions teachers bring into their classrooms—and the role those teachers play in keeping music alive for the next generation. The pay-what-you-wish concert is also the first appearance of the St. Louis Symphony Chorus at Powell Hall in its 50th anniversary season.
A young Rachmaninoff, a final Tchaikovsky
Daniil Trifonov makes his SLSO debut November 6–8 in Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 1, a work from the composer’s youth. Its piano writing puts the soloist in a vivid exchange with the orchestra, offering Trifonov room to show both the concerto’s sweep and its intimacy. One of today’s most striking pianists, Trifonov has gained worldwide acclaim for his recordings of Rachmaninoff’s piano music.
The concert opens with Michael Tilson Thomas’ Agnegram, heard in its first SLSO performances, and ends with Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Sixth Symphony. Often called the Pathétique, the symphony moves through sharply contrasting moods before arriving at a hushed, deeply affecting finale.
A symphony between beauty and darkness
The St. Louis Symphony Chorus begins its 50th anniversary season of classical concerts November 14–15, joining the orchestra for music by Felix Mendelssohn and Igor Stravinsky before Dmitri Shostakovich’s Eighth Symphony. The program sets the human voice alongside a symphony that shifts between forceful, unsettling episodes and passages of stark lyricism.
Shostakovich wrote the work during World War II, and its emotional contrasts resist an easy resolution. The result is a gripping encounter with music that holds grief and resilience in tension. The program is led by conductor David Afkham.
Chamber music, inspired by art and place
At the Pulitzer Arts Foundation on November 10, SLSO musicians perform a program curated by composer Christopher Stark in response to the exhibition Olga de Amaral: Weaving the Infinite. The works by Martin Bresnick, Donnacha Dennehy, Adolfo Mejía and Julia Wolfe draw on ideas of textiles, folk traditions and musical pattern. Heard among de Amaral’s works, the pieces invite listeners to notice how sound can suggest texture, repetition, and movement.
On November 19, SLSO Principal Trumpeter Steven Franklin and Principal Trombonist Jonathan Randazzo curate a Live at The Sheldon program with Principal Keyboardist Peter Henderson. The evening pairs lesser-known repertoire—including music by Jacques Castérède, Juraj Filas and Joseph Turrin—with a world premiere by Henderson and a commissioned work by University of Missouri student Dean Wibe. It’s a chance to hear SLSO musicians in a more intimate setting, exploring music beyond the symphonic stage.
Paintings brought to life in sound
For her SLSO debut November 28–29, violinist Himari joins conductor John Storgårds in a program that turns to visual art for inspiration. Rachmaninoff’s Isle of the Dead begins in a shadowed, atmospheric world. Glazunov’s Violin Concerto brings Himari into the spotlight with a lyrical solo part, before Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition, in Ravel’s orchestration, leads listeners through a gallery of musical portraits.
An anniversary celebration
On November 20–21, the US Naval Academy Glee Club joins the SLSO for a Powell Hall celebration of the nation’s 250th anniversary. Actor John Goodman narrates American Mosaic, a multimedia work pairing orchestral music with images of American landscapes. The Glee Club then joins the orchestra for an evening of sea shanties, patriotic songs, Broadway selections and more.
From the concentrated colors of chamber music to the scale of a symphony, November offers many ways to experience live music at the SLSO. For concert details and tickets, visit the SLSO event calendar.
Maddie Hurst was the SLSO’s summer 2026 Communications intern.
