An invited crowd of a few hundred St. Louis business and arts leaders heard something Friday that none of them had heard since 2023: the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra playing onstage at Powell Hall.

Music Director Stéphane Denève led the ensemble through a live demonstration of acoustic enhancements to the concert hall made in a $140 million, two-year renovation. The musicians performed work by John Williams, Beethoven, Stravinsky and W. C. Handy.

The 20-minute performance came after the SLSO raised $173 million toward Powell Hall renovations and construction of an adjoining 65,000-square-foot addition. The complex is now known as the Jack C. Taylor Music Center.

Cristina Fletes-Mach / St. Louis Public Radio

The fundraising campaign has been one of the most lucrative ever conduc

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