Eleazar De Carvalho,
Music Director 1963-1968

Appointed Music Director in 1963, Brazilian conductor Eleazar De Carvalho brought a fiery musical style and intense commitment to contemporary music to St. Louis. One of the leading exponents of contemporary and modern composition, De Carvalho considered it his mission to establish the Saint Louis Symphony as the premier cultural institution dedicated to promoting an understanding of contemporary arts in this country. His programming was unorthodox and designed to educate and inform his audience of a particular work's place in musical history, often by comparing it to similar earlier and later works on the same program. Unfortunately, much of this was not appreciated by the audiences of the time, who did not understand the programming, but their support of De Carvalho was strong.

Under De Carvalho's guidance the orchestra grew to over ninety members and the quality of the new members was very high. His music directorship also saw the orchestra's move to Powell Symphony Hall in 1968, the orchestra's first permanent home and one of the premier concert halls in the United States. The Saint Louis Symphony's catalogue of world and U.S. premiers and performances of recent compositions from this period is staggering. Indeed, the orchestra of this period must be viewed as one of the foremost ensembles in the championing of new works, a tradition which is strong to this day.

In 1968 Eleazar De Carvalho announced he was moving on to the Pro Arte Symphony at Hofstra University. Maestro De Carvalho had taken degrees at both the Music School of the University of Brazil and the Institute Rio Branca. He was awarded a doctorate from the University of Brazil in both composition and conducting. Upon moving to the United States he was assistant to Koussevitsky in the training class for conductors at Tangelwood. After leaving St. Louis Eleazar De Carvalho would continue as a noted educator of conductors and musicians with a specialty in contemporary composition for the rest of his life.