Black History Month concert with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, IN UNISON Chorus, and special guest Isaac Cates.
The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra brings Lift Every Voice to Powell Hall on Friday, February 19, 2027, at 7:30 PM. It's the SLSO's Black History Month celebration, a concert they describe as showcasing the variety and depth of Black musical expression. The program features the orchestra joined by the St. Louis Symphony IN UNISON Chorus, with Isaac Cates on vocals and Kevin McBeth conducting both the orchestra and the chorus.
That chorus is one of two resident groups the SLSO maintains. The first is the St. Louis Symphony Chorus, founded in 1976; the second is the IN UNISON Chorus, founded in 1994 with a focus on music from the African diaspora. The orchestra also runs the St. Louis Symphony Youth Orchestra, which Conductor Laureate Leonard Slatkin started in 1970. For this particular night, the IN UNISON Chorus takes the stage alongside the full orchestra, with McBeth leading both.
It's a big night for the SLSO, which is the second-oldest orchestra in the United States. The 2026/27 season marks its 147th year, and its ninth under Music Director Stéphane Denève, who has held the post since 2015 and is a Grammy Award winner. Denève also holds the title of The Joseph and Emily Rauh Pulitzer Music Director.
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Powell Hall is the orchestra's home, and it's back in full swing after a two-year expansion and renovation by the architecture firm Snøhetta. It reopened in September 2025 as part of the Jack C. Taylor Music Center, so this is one of the first Black History Month celebrations the hall has hosted since the work was completed. Lift Every Voice runs Friday, February 19, 2027, starting at 7:30 PM.
