The Austin Civic Orchestra is a

nonprofit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

volunteer-based semi-professional

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...

with ~80 musicians based in

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...

. It was founded in 1977. ACO's mission is to educate and entertain the public with high quality classical music. The orchestra's members are from all walks of life and ages range from 18 to 75. The ACO generally performs 6-7 concerts per season, including pops concerts and holiday concerts. The orchestra also sponsors the annual Pearl Amster Youth Chamber Music Festival and collaborates with the University of Texas on their annual Texas Rising Stars contest. Dr. Lois FerrariHarriman, Randy. " Instruments to play: Amateurs find musical home in civic groups." Austin American-Statesman (Texas) 18 September 2005: K3. Web. 15 September 2010. . has been the ACO

Music Director A music(al) director or director of music is the person responsible for the musical aspects of a performance, production, or organization. This would include the artistic director and usually chief conductor of an orchestra or concert band, the d ...

and conductor for 16 seasons and is also Professor of Music at

Southwestern University Southwestern University (Southwestern or SU) is a private liberal arts college in Georgetown, Texas. Formed in 1873 from a revival of collegiate charters granted in 1840, Southwestern is the oldest college or university in Texas. Southwestern o ...

in Georgetown. In recent years, the ACO has won 2nd place for community orchestra performance in the nationally adjudicated American Prize. Dr. Ferrari was also awarded 2nd place for community orchestra conducting from the same organization.

References

External links

* http://www.austincivicorchestra.org * http://loisferrari.wixsite.com/maestra-lois-ferrari * https://issuu.com/austinwoman/docs/october_2010 (see pp. 26–27) {{authority control Texas classical music Music of Austin, Texas Organizations based in Austin, Texas Musical groups established in 1977 Orchestras based in Texas