St Louis Civic Orchestra

04/09/2026

Also on the program: The Bacchanale from Samson and Delilah. "Saint-Saëns worked on this opera for about ten years before its opening in Weimar, Germany in 1877. The pious French authorities would not permit a story from the bible on the operatic stage—nor would the English censors until 1909. The Bacchanale occurs at the very end of the opera, after all of the events of the familiar story of Samson that we know from the Book of Judges has transpired. Blind and shackled, Samson awaits his fate, as the priests and priestesses of the Philistine pagan god dance their wild and uninhibited song of victory. Well, their victory is short lived, for we all know what Samson does at the end. (William E. Runyan)" Join us to hear this thrilling piece, on Saturday, April 11, 2026, 7 PM, at First Presbyterian Church of Kirkwood!

04/08/2026

Also on the program: Dmitri Shostakovich's exciting "Festive Overture," which was commissioned by the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow for the celebration of the 37th anniversary of the October Revolution. Composed in only three days, the piece was premiered in November 1954 and remains one of Shostakovich's most popular works. Join us on Saturday, April 11, 2026, 7 PM, at First Presbyterian Church of Kirkwood for this free concert!

04/07/2026

Also on the program this Saturday: La Mere l'Oye (Mother Goose Suite), by Maurice Ravel. "Maurice Ravel’s Mother Goose has nothing to do with the famous collection of English nursery rhymes. This Mother Goose (or Ma Mère l’Oye) is French: it was Charles Perralt (1628–1703) who collected some old and new tales in a book that became known as “Mother Goose;” his collection contained, among others, the stories of Sleeping Beauty and Little Red Riding Hood. Ravel was inspired by Perrault’s collection and other fairy tales when, in 1908, he decided to write a short suite for piano duet, intended as a gift for Mimi and Jean Godebski, the children of his friends C**a and Ida Godebski. He orchestrated the suite in 1911." (Notes by Peter Laki). You can hear this charming suite for orchestra on Saturday, April 11, 2026, 7 PM at First Presbyterian Church of Kirkwood, and admission is free!

04/06/2026

On the program this coming Saturday, April 11th: Charis Shing, winner of the Florence Frager Young Artist Competition, will perform Henri Vieuxtemps' Violin Concerto No 5 in its entirety. "Amongst Vieuxtemps’ seven violin concertos, the fifth in a minor is doubtlessly the best known and most popular by far. It was composed in 1860/61 as an obligatory examination piece for the violin class of his friend Hubert Léonard at the Brussels Conservatory, but then soon made its way into the concert hall. It owes its popularity not only to the brilliant violin part but also to the unusual form of the three movements that merge into one another without interruption. (G. Henle Verlag)" Charis plays beautifully and you will not want to miss her performance! This concert is free and takes place at First Presbyterian Church of Kirkwood, 7 PM, 4/11/26.

03/19/2026

🎶 FREE CONCERT! 🎶 Join the St. Louis Civic Orchestra on Saturday, April 11 at 7 PM at First Presbyterian Church of Kirkwood for our Spring concert!

Performance includes Shostakovich, Saint-Saëns, Ravel, and Vieuxtemps featuring our Florence Frager Young Artist Competition winner Charis Shing on violin . 🎻✨

03/06/2026

Meet our 2025–2026 Florence Frager Young Artist Competition winner: Charis Shing! We’re excited to feature Charis as guest soloist at our FREE concert on Saturday, April 11, 2026 at 7:00 PM at Kirkwood First Presbyterian Church. Hear her perform Vieuxtemps’ Violin Concerto No. 5 alongside a vibrant program including Shostakovich’s Festive Overture, Saint-Saëns’ Danse Bacchanale, and Ravel’s Mother Goose Suite. Don’t miss this inspiring evening of music and rising talent.

Charis Shing is the 2026 winner of the Florence Frager Young Artist Competition and will join the St. Louis Civic Orchestra as guest soloist on Saturday, April 11, 2026 at 7:00 pm at Kirkwood First Read more

02/27/2026

Concerts by the St. Louis Civic Orchestra are always free and open to all! We gratefully welcome donations from audience members, which help us purchase music, perform in beautiful venues throughout the region, and continue bringing live orchestral music to our community.

Giving is easy—donate online at https://stlco.org/cms/support-the-civic/
or use the collection boxes available at our concerts.

Join us on Saturday, February 28, 2026, at 7:00 PM at First Presbyterian Church of Kirkwood for our next performance. If you enjoy the music, please consider supporting the orchestra with a contribution.

Thank you for being part of our audience—we look forward to seeing you there!

02/26/2026

On the program this Saturday: "Grand Canyon Suite," by American composer Ferde Grofe. Grofe was a prolific arranger, jazz musician, and composer most noted for arranging Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue for the Paul Whiteman Orchestra, as well as for composing this iconic and well loved suite for orchestra. The Suite's five movements depict the many moods and seasons of the Grand Canyon, which Grofe visited frequently (although he was living in Wisconsin when he wrote the music!). Our free concert will take place on Saturday, February 28, 2026, 7 PM, at First Presbyterian Church of Kirkwood. See you then!

02/25/2026

On the program this Saturday: "Our Town" Symphonic Suite by American composer, Aaron Copland. Written for the 1940 film version of the stage play, Copland said, "For the film version, they were counting on the music to translate the transcendental aspects of the story. I tried for clean and clear sounds and in general used straight-forward harmonies and rhythms that would project the serenity and sense of security of the story.” He later revised the film score into a 10 minute suite that was premiered by the Boston Pops in 1944, and conducted by Leonard Bernstein, to whom the suite is dedicated. (Credits to Alex Burns, Classicalexburns.com)
Come hear this wonderful piece of music on Saturday, February 28, 2026, 7 PM at the First Presbyterian Church of Kirkwood!

02/24/2026

On Saturday's program: "The Unanswered Question," by American composer Charles Ives. Ives "was a significant American composer who is known for a number of innovations that anticipated most of the later musical developments of the 20th century" (Encyclopedia Britannica), including dissonance, polytonal harmonies, tone clusters, and "chance" in music. The Unanswered Question is composed for strings, one trumpet, and a woodwind quartet. "It is a kind of musical collage in three layers. A distant background of strings represents “the Silence of the Druids.” Over it a trumpet repeatedly intones “the Perennial Question of Existence,” and a group of winds attempts to solve the question with increasing fury. Finally the trumpet asks the question one last time, answered by an eloquent silence. For Ives, a question was better, more productive, than an answer (Boston Symphony Orchestra)." Come hear this six minute piece on Saturday, February 28th, 7 PM, at First Presbyterian Church of Kirkwood!

02/23/2026

What are we playing this Saturday? On the program: Cantus Arcticus, by Finnish composer Einojuhani Rautavaara. Subtitled "Concerto for Birds and Orchestra," it is a three movement piece where the instruments of the ensemble imitate and play under prerecorded Nordic bird calls. We have enjoyed putting this work together for your listening pleasure! Join us at First Presbyterian Church of Kirkwood on Saturday, February 28, 2026, 7 PM for a free concert! More info about the composer in the comments.