ST. LOUIS — The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra is gearing up for its 144th season. As it has for more than 50 years, the orchestra will kick things off with a free concert in Forest Park.
The concert will be held at 7 p.m. on Sept. 21 at Art Hill. In addition to music, the event will feature food trucks, drinks from Urban Chestnut Brewing Company and a grand finale fireworks show over Forest Park’s Grand Basin.
Music Director Stéphane Denève is in his fifth season leading the orchestra, and has put together a lineup of songs some people might recognize from the silver screen. Denève is a close collaborator of legendary film composer John Williams, and a pair of Williams' pieces will be featured in the concert.
The full list for the concert is as follows:
- John Stafford Smith (arr. Sousa/Damrosch) — "The Star-Spangled Banner"
- J. Rosamund Johnson — “Lift Every Voice and Sing”
- Johann Strauss, Jr. — On the Beautiful Blue Danube
- Johann Strauss, Jr. — Radetzky March
- Sergei Prokofiev — March and Scherzo from The Love for Three Oranges
- Leonard Bernstein — Candide Overture
- Georges Bizet — Selections from Carmen Suite No. 1 & 2
- Pietro Mascagni — Intermezzo from Cavalleria rusticana
- Florence Price — “Juba” from Symphony No. 3
- George Gershwin — Girl Crazy Overture
- John Williams — “The Raiders March” from Raiders of the Lost Ark
- John Williams — Dry Your Tears, Afrika from Amistad
- Samuel Ward — “America the Beautiful”
- John Philip Sousa — The Stars and Stripes Forever
No tickets are needed for the Forest Park concert. Tickets for all the 2023-24 season concerts are on sale now and can be purchased at slso.org or by calling the SLSO Box Office at 314-534-1700.
