The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra announced Monday that Samuel Hollister has been named the SLSO’s assistant conductor. He will also serve as music director for the St. Louis Symphony Youth Orchestra, a position newly endowed in perpetuity by the Saigh Foundation and named for Fred M. Saigh.
Hollister fills the positions last held by Stephanie Childress, whose contract expired at the end of the 2022-23 season.
Hollister is a doctoral candidate in conducting at the Yale School of Music and the music director of the Civic Orchestra of New Haven (Connecticut). He holds master’s degrees in orchestral conducting and music theory pedagogy from the Peabody Institute and bachelor’s degrees in music and mathematics from Yale University.
In a statement released by the orchestra, SLSO music director Stéphane Denève called Hollister “an exceptional young conductor who will follow our impressive lineage of talented and promising assistants.” He praised Hollister’s “sophisticated and mature understanding of the symphonic repertoire, his vivid imagination and inspiring musicality.”
People are also reading…
Hollister said: “From the first moment I heard the SLSO live in January, I knew that this was an astonishingly special orchestra.” He praised its “extraordinary level of musical excellence” as well as its “warmth and its sense of family.”
The position of Youth Orchestra music director, Hollister added, is about “much more than just fostering musical excellence and passion: it’s about mentorship, too.”
Hollister will make his St. Louis debut conducting the SLSO at its “Concert for Kids: Wild Symphonies” program on Oct. 5 at the Touhill Performing Arts Center. Among his other duties will be conducting several education concerts, leading the orchestra during the annual reading of new music by student composers from the University of Missouri and assisting Denève and an international roster of guest conductors during classical concert weeks.
The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra announced a four-year extension of Stéphane Denève’s contract as music director, through the end of the 2025-26 season. His initial three-year contract began with the 2019-20 season following one season as music director designate. Serving as the SLSO’s 13th music director, Denève has attracted top artists to St. Louis, including his appointment of 10 musicians to the orchestra and the selection of Stephanie Childress as the SLSO’s new assistant conductor.