The St. Louis Symphony Chorus turns 50 this season, and its first classical celebration is a mighty one. Conductor David Afkham leads the SLSO and Chorus at Powell Hall November 14–15, 2026, in Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 8 — the wartime giant the orchestra performs for the first time since 2014.
The Chorus takes the spotlight first, in its golden-anniversary season: Mendelssohn’s Psalm 114 in its first SLSO performances, and Stravinsky’s austere, radiant ‘Symphony of Psalms,’ Erin Freeman directing the ensemble she now leads. Shostakovich himself promised that in the Eighth, for all its darkness, the beautiful would reign — a chorus’s anniversary could ask for no better creed.
Two performances, one landmark season.
Powell Hall is at 718 North Grand Boulevard. Tickets at slso.org.
