Maestro Dolbashian to retire

It is with mixed emotions that we announce that after over twenty years, our beloved Maestro will retire at the end of this concert season. Please join us for his final performance on Sunday, April 24th. Invite your friends, and help us celebrate the most wonderful tenure of our conductor, our teacher, our friend. The orchestra is pleased to honor Maestro Dolbashian with the establishment of the Edward Dolbashian Conductor’s Fund, which will be used Read more…

St. Louis Civic Bits & Pieces Series: Schubert’s Rosamunde Quartet (1st Movement)

Have you ever thought about how COVID-19 affects a community symphony orchestra? In order to safely socially distance the audience and player alike, the St. Louis Civic Orchestra invites you to listen to its first-ever Bits n’ Pieces Chamber Music Series. For the past few months, we’ve been hard at work preparing, rehearsing, and recording small performances in smaller numbers. Our mission is to enrich lives through the performance and preservation of orchestral works and Read more…

Mary Weber plays Neruda

Mary Weber gets around town. You may have heard her as part of Clarion Brass, or seen her play with the St. Louis Symphony or Bach Society. She has soloed with several area ensembles, including the St. Louis Philharmonic and the Alton Symphony. And this month she will be featured on our first concert of the season. Not only is Mary well known as a talented, capable, and versatile trumpeter, but also as a well-liked Read more…

Scheherazade Program Notes

The Civic is kicking off our 70th season with the crowd-pleasing Scheherazade by Rimsky Korsakov. Come to the concert with a little background knowledge by taking a sneak peak at the program notes for this piece. If you are a lover of music that tells a story, you won’t want to miss the chance to hear Scheherazade live. Click here for the program notes.

New Member Search

The St. Louis Civic is seeking new members to join the orchestra. Auditions will take place on August 20th beginning at 7:30 PM at St. Paul’s Evangelical Church (9801 Olive Blvd, Creve Coeur, MO 63141) Visit our Join page for more details. The Civic is made up of people who love to make orchestral music together. We have professional musicians alongside business people. Educators and doctors. Business owners and retired people. If you have kept Read more…

Meet our 2018-2019 Florence Frager Winners

The April Civic Orchestra concert is always a special one as it showcases the young talents of tomorrow. In addition to 8th grade students from the Parkway Northeast Middle School Orchestra performing alongside members of the Civic, the upcoming concert will feature special guests, Anna Zhong and Sophie Thorpe, winners of our 2018-2019 Florence Frager Young Artist Competition. The April concert will be held on Sunday, April 7th at 7 PM at the Purser Center Read more…

Program Notes for Enigma Variations by Edward Elgar

In 1898, after a hard day of teaching fiddle, Edward Elgar, a young musician from the English Midlands, relaxed by improvising melodies on the piano for the entertainment of his wife, Caroline. She was so intrigued by one of the themes that Edward improvised a number of variations on it, each illustrating the personality of someone the Elgars knew. The improvisations were so successful that Elgar went on to make them into an orchestral composition Read more…