Powell Hall is one of America's most acoustically renowned and visually stunning concert halls—and home to your St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. We’re renovating and expanding the 98-year-old building to preserve and enhance our civic treasure for generations to come.
This project is inspired by you: our goal is to provide greater access to music, an even more welcoming and comfortable experience for all, and a creative hub that helps us build connections through the power of music.
The revitalized Powell Hall will open in 2025 to coincide with the building's centennial. We look forward to celebrating with you.
Learn more about the expansion and renovation here.
May 19, 2023
Since the final concert at Powell Hall as you know it on May 14, there has been a buzz of activity as the staff moves out of the hall and the building is prepared for renovation work in the interior.
Excavation continued to the east of the building and piers were drilled to prepare for the new basement foundation. The first phase of construction includes the erection of a new backstage building to provide updated and new amenities for SLSO musicians and guest artists.
With public events completed for the season, work inside picked up tempo: librarians packed up all of the institution's precious music, staff members loaded boxes and moved furniture to temporary offices, autographed headshots were carefully prepped for storage, work on and around the Emerson Concert Stage accelerated, and some of the iconic red velvet auditorium seats were removed.
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May 14, 2023
Assistant Conductor Stephanie Childress led the St. Louis Symphony Youth Orchestra for the final concert in Powell Hall before the expansion and renovation project closes the historic venue until 2025. At the final concert, the SLSO celebrated the talents of these talented student musicians, as well as our dedicated front of house team, who work tirelessly to make concert experiences safe and welcoming.
When it reopens in 2025, Powell Hall will still feel elegant—we’re keeping the chandeliers, red velvet, and special details we all love—but will be more accessible, have more amenities for audiences and musicians, and also will more fully connect with the community through new spaces including thededicated Education and Learning Center.
In the meantime, the SLSO will be performing in venues throughout St. Louis. You can learn more about those locations and our 2023/2024 season here.
April 11, 2023
The SLSO will remain busy during the expansion and renovation of Powell Hall, performing at our two primary "home away from home" venues—Touhill Performing Arts Center and Stifel Theatre—as well as at other locations throughout the St. Louis region, including the Sheldon Concert Hall, Lindenwood University’s J. Scheidegger Center for the Arts, and the Pulitzer Arts Foundation. We also will continue toshare music in schools, houses of worship, and other public spaces—including Forest Park.
New banners at Powell Hall serve as a reminder that you can still hear the music you love performed by your SLSO over the next two years.
April 3, 2023
While the orchestra acts an ambassador for the St. Louis region in Europe, construction work has ramped up at Powell Hall. Excavation work has begun on the new backstage expansion, which will provide much-needed amenities for orchestra members and guest artists, to maintain the orchestra as an international destination for musicians.
Meanwhile, SLSO staff are moving out of Powell Hall, part of a months-long process to carefully save and preserve the orchestra’s vibrant history. One item that received special attention is Music Director Stéphane Denève’s piano.
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March 21, 2023
After years of planning with an international design team of experts, the expansion and renovation of Powell Hall is underway. On Monday, March 21, BSI Constructors—the project’s construction manager—began loading in heavy equipment as the orchestra prepared to depart for a four-country, five-city European tour.
BSI will fence off the site in preparation for the first phase of the project, which includes excavating to the east of the current building to prepare for laying the foundation of the new backstage expansion.