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SLSO Concludes 2025/26 Classical Season with Family Centered Program

By Eric Dundon

The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra brought its 2025/26 classical season to a sweeping close May 8–10 at Powell Hall with a program that celebrated community, collaboration, and—most poignantly—family. Led by Music Director Stéphane Denève, the concerts united nearly 300 musicians and singers, including the St. Louis Symphony Chorus and IN UNISON Chorus, for a program that balanced contemporary voices with one of orchestral music’s most luminous masterworks.

The program opened with Composer in Residence Kevin Puts’ Virelai (after Guillaume de Machaut), a shimmering reimagining of medieval melody that served as an atmospheric introduction to the program’s themes of transformation and memory. Virelai was originally commissioned to open Denève’s first concert as the SLSO’s Music Director. The centerpiece of the first half was the world premiere of Nathalie Joachim’s Family, another SLSO commission written for the IN UNISON Chorus and orchestra. Built from words and stories shared directly by chorus members, the work offered an intimate meditation on belonging, resilience, and connection, bringing personal narratives to the concert hall in deeply human terms.

Music Director Stéphane Denève waves to the audience following a monumental performance of Ravel’s Daphnis and Chloe with the St. Louis Symphony Chorus. (Photo by Miranda Munguia)
Composer Nathalie Joachim, center, reacts to the audience as she introduces her piece, Family. Commissioned by the SLSO, the piece featured the St. Louis Symphony IN UNISON Chorus and the text was derived from conversations Joachim had with the singers. (Photo by Miranda Munguia)
The double bass section warms up prior to the performance. (Photo by Miranda Munguia)
Denève leads the SLSO and IN UNISON Chorus in Nathalie Joachim’s Family. (Photo by Miranda Munguia)
Kevin McBeth, director of the IN UNISON Chorus, led the encore, “Beautiful City.” Denève and Joachim joined the chorus for the performance. (Photo by Miranda Munguia)
The Berges Family Grand Lobby is lit up for After Party, an informal gathering for audiences and musicians following the performance. (Photo by Miranda Munguia)
Members of the SLSO’s brass section perform during Daphnis and Chloe. (Photo by Miranda Munguia)
Denève leads the orchestra in Kevin Puts’ Virelai, which opened this program. Puts served as the SLSO’s Composer in Residence in the 2025/26 season. (Photo by Miranda Munguia)

After intermission, Denève led a monumental performance of Maurice Ravel’s complete Daphnis and Chloé, the composer’s expansive “choreographic symphony” for orchestra and wordless chorus. With the St. Louis Symphony Chorus adding ethereal texture and dramatic force, the performance unfolded in vivid colors, from moments of pastoral stillness to ecstatic climaxes.

The performances drew strong praise from local critics. Writing for St. Louis Arts Scene, critic Chuck Lavazzi described the SLSO’s interpretation of the rarely heard full score as “exhilarating” and called it “the ideal capstone” to the season. Following the performances, audiences gathered with orchestra members, singers, and other members of the SLSO family to celebrate the first season in Powell Hall at the new Jack C. Taylor Music Center.

Eric Dundon is the SLSO’s Public Relations Director.

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