St. Louis Symphony - Prokofiev and Childs - Anthems of Resilience

By Sam Wisman

Published February 16, 2026 at 9:28 AM CST

St. Louis Symphony Orchestra performs at Powell Hall, March 2022

Humanity is at the core of this transformative program that includes Sergei Prokofiev's wartime Fifth Symphony, and RE|Member by Reena Esmail. And composer Billy Childs expresses trauma, resilience, and empowerment within the Black American experience through his poignant symphonic poem, Diaspora, brought to life by saxophone soloist Steven Banks.

An agreement with the St. Louis Symphony allows us to share audio for this program up to two weeks after the program's original air date. You can find more episodes here.

Host

Rod Milam
St. Louis Public Radio

Commentator

Lauren Eldridge Stewart
Assistant Professor of Music at Washington University

Conductor

Xian Zhang

Program

Reena Esmail's RE|Member (First SLSO performances)

Billy Childs' Diaspora (Concerto for Saxophone and Orchestra) (First SLSO performances)
Steven Banks, saxophone (SLSO debut)

Steven Banks' Willow (encore)
Steven Banks, saxophone

Backstage intermission interviews
Xian Zhang, Jelena Dirks (SLSO principal oboe), Steven Banks

Sergei Prokofiev's Symphony No. 5 in B-flat major, Op. 100

These broadcasts are produced by St. Louis Public Radio and made possible in partnership with St. Louis Public Radio and the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra.