Locals and visitors to St. Louis have always enjoyed attending the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. Those travelers especially look forward to visiting during the 2025/26 season thanks to the reopening of its historic home, Powell Hall, at the new Jack C. Taylor Music Center, named in honor of the late Jack C. Taylor, a longtime SLSO patron, philanthropist and founder of Enterprise Mobility. This year marks the orchestra’s 145th year — SLSO is the second-oldest professional symphony orchestra in the United States, preceded only by the New York Philharmonic.

© Sam Fentress

The reopening followed a two-year, $140-million project centering on SLSO’s priority of making music more accessible to all, including local residents as well as national and international guests.

Led by Norwegian-based Snøhetta as design architect and locally based St. Louis Christner Architects, the project meticulously preserved 100-year-old Powell Hall’s acclaimed acoustics and stunning visual design while making significant enhancements to the audience and artist experience.

The hall opened in 1925 as an ornate movie theater with 4,000 seats, and showcased not only films but also live performances. SLSO’s home since 1968, Powell Hall has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 2001. The hall now seats 2,683 guests, and is part of the St. Louis Grand Center Arts District.

© Sam Fentress

Project improvements included new seating, more enhanced amenities, and improved accessibility and safety measures. Backstage areas have been significantly upgraded with better instrument storage, additional practice areas and dressing rooms, and a state-of-the-art recording studio. The addition of a nearly 4,000-square-foot Education and Learning Center serves as a hub for SLSO’s growing portfolio of education programs, a rehearsal space for SLSO’s two choruses and Youth Orchestra, and a nexus for community gathering, fostering the institution’s growth as a leader in music education and community engagement. SLSO commissioned internationally renowned artist Sheila Hicks to create a permanent, site-specific art installation for the new main entrance.

SLSO’s 146^th season is a celebration of the power of music and the return to renovated Powell Hall. An outstanding roster of guest artists joins SLSO with programming highlighting bold, large-scale masterworks, including Richard Strauss’ Ein Heldenleben, Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem, Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 5, Maurice Ravel’s complete Daphnis et Chloé, and W.A. Mozart’s The Magic Flute. SLSO’s two resident choruses — St. Louis Symphony Chorus and St. Louis Symphony IN UNISON Chorus — will be featured prominently throughout the season.

© Sam Fentress

In addition to classical programming, SLSO continues its popular film series with six films; beloved holiday concerts; classical crossover concerts featuring the music of Dolly Parton, Chuck Berry and John Coltrane; and collaborations with artists including Sissel, Tower of Power, Ben Rector and more.