St. Louis Symphony Orchestra Music Director Stéphane Denève is so confident in the acoustics of the newly renovated Powell Symphony Hall that he issued a challenge. He invited guests Friday morning to sit in the last row of the furthest balcony tier to experience how sound carries clearly to every seat.

“Even if I whisper like this,” Denève said as he lowered his voice, “you will still be able to hear me clearly.”

For Sherry Sissac, his words carried special meaning. As a fourth grader at the now-closed Arlington Elementary School, she once sat high in the balcony during a special SLSO concert performed during a field trip for straight-A students. The moment left her in awe.

“You can’t even see the seat from here,” Sissac said as she looked way up in the balcony with her hand on her che

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