STL Symphony Blog

The St. Louis Symphony plays Carnegie Hall in New York City on March 10, 2012. Leading up to that concert, our friends at Carnegie have been working with us on creating a web narrative, telling the story of an American orchestra traveling to and performing at that hallowed performance mecca. The web series has begun. Watch for more in the coming days and weeks.

Saturday night the view from the palatial St. Louis Public Radio broadcast booth was obscure. With the stage lighting set low for Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, our monitors--which are functional at best--were displaying layers of darkness. Is the orchestra out there? Is David Robertson out there? Are the dancers dancing?

Although the Friday morning Coffee Concerts have long been advertised and known as just that, the "Coffee Concerts" for a long time, double bassist Don Martin informed me that the musicians refer to them as the "doughnut concerts."

Overheard from a Hubbard Street Dance Chicago dressing room: "A symphony gig doesn't seem so bad."

David Robertson's on-stage welcome to the dancers for the first rehearsal on Wednesday afternoon: "I apologize in advance for getting all the tempos wrong."

I've been talking about the stage extension and raised stage for orchestra that help make the Hubbard Street Dance Chicago/St. Louis Symphony concerts ideal for a variety of sensations. Here are some pics:


The stage that stretches out into the seating area.

Not only is the stage extension completed, but the stage-upon-a-stage component, in which the orchestra is set on a platform upstage and above the Powell Hall stage floor, appeared in place on Tuesday afternoon. I looked at it somewhat amazed. A stage hand said, "Magic."

Stage Manager Bruce Mourning and his Morning, Noon, and Night crew (MN&N--see how that works for you as a moniker, stage crew) were busy adding the stage extension on a snowy Monday, so Hubbard Street Dance Chicago dancers have room to dance and St. Louis Symphony musician have room to make music. It makes for a wonderful combination. Stretch that proscenium.

"I'm going to be very honest," Jenifer Lewis begins the phone interview, as if anyone would expect her to be anything but, "I am so excited to be singing at Powell Hall with the In Unison Chorus."

Wednesday evening, as part of the On Stage at Powell event, the XAff department hosted a pre-show dinner with Mayor Francis Slay and members of the Board of Aldermen of the City of St. Louis. After everyone was fed and St. Louis Symphony President/CEO Fred Bronstein spoke on the state of the Symphony, we made our way to the Powell Hall stage for the concert "Celebrating Black History Month: An Evening of African and African-American Music." Also in attendance this evening were many new immigrants to our city, from countries far away and cultures different from our own. It was a wonder to see such a diverse group on stage and in the auditorium. Mayor Slay gave our new neighbors a warm welcome to their new home. Also in the house were new St. Louisans from the organization St. Louis Transplants, a group who might best be known for not having gone to high school here (I proudly qualify for this designation).