Pre-Concert Conversations
Pre-Concert Conversations are free to all ticket holders and start one hour prior to each classical concert. Learn about the music and musicians from experts in musicology.
2026/27 Season Pre-Concert Conversations
Opening Weekend: Italian Splendor (Sep 26-27) with Peter Henderson, SLSO Principal Keyboard
Debussy’s La Mer: Stories in Sound (Oct 2 & 4) with Erin Freeman, Director of the St. Louis Symphony Chorus
Mozart and Schumann: Scenes from the Rhine (Oct 16-17) with Samuel Hollister, SLSO Assistant Conductor
Beethoven’s Pastoral: Reflections of Home (Oct 30-31) with Peter Henderson, SLSO Principal Keyboard
Rachmaninoff and Tchaikovsky: Passion and Fate (Nov 6-8) with Samuel Hollister, SLSO Assistant Conductor
Shostakovich’s Eighth: Beauty in Darkness (Nov 14-15) with Erin Freeman, Director of the St. Louis Symphony Chorus
Pictures at an Exhibition: A Lyrical Tour (Nov 28-29) with Samuel Hollister, SLSO Assistant Conductor
Dvořák’s Eighth: Bohemian Dreams (Dec 4-5) with Peter Henderson, SLSO Principal Keyboard
Brahms’ Third: Fierce Longing (Jan 8-10) with Samuel Hollister, SLSO Assistant Conductor
Rachmaninoff’s Symphonic Dances: Living Portraits (Jan 16-17) with Amy Greenhalgh, violist and Assistant Dean at Washington University in St. Louis
Salomé and Elektra: Legendary Women (Jan 29-30) with Peter Henderson, SLSO Principal Keyboard
Prokofiev and Connesson: Myth and Mischief (Feb 6-7) with Peter Henderson, SLSO Principal Keyboard
Ravel and Poulenc: Charm and Wonder (Feb 12-13) with Samuel Hollister, SLSO Assistant Conductor
Bruckner’s Fourth: The Romantic (Feb 26-27) with Samuel Hollister, SLSO Assistant Conductor
Marsalis’ Fifth: A Jazz Symphony (Mar 12-14) with Samuel Hollister, SLSO Assistant Conductor
Haydn and Ortiz: Resistance and Revolution (Mar 20-21) with Erin Freeman, Director of the St. Louis Symphony Chorus
Shostakovich and Sibelius: Power and Drama (Apr 3-4) with Peter Henderson, SLSO Principal Keyboard
Bernstein and Copland: American Rhapsody (Apr 8-10) with Christopher Stark, composer and Associate Professor at Washington University in St. Louis
Brahms and Vaughan Williams: Tenderness and Turmoil (Apr 16 & 18) with Samuel Hollister, SLSO Assistant Conductor
Bartók and Kodály: Mosaics in Motion (Apr 30-May 1) with Samuel Hollister, SLSO Assistant Conductor
Mahler’s Third: The World in Symphony (May 7 & 9) with Erin Freeman, Director of the St. Louis Symphony Chorus
Noted Podcast
Aren’t able to make it to the pre-concert conversation but still want to learn more about the music? Listen to our new Noted Podcast, a quick look into what’s on stage this week at the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra.