American Composers Orchestra
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The American Composers Orchestra (ACO) is an American orchestra administratively based in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, specialising in contemporary American music. The ACO gives concerts at various concert venues in New York City, including: * Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall * The DiMenna Center * The Mannes School of Music * Winter Garden at Brookfield Place * Miller Theater at Columbia University


History

Francis Thorne Francis Thorne (June 23, 1922 – March 7, 2017) was an American composer of contemporary classical music and grandson of the writer Gustav Kobbé. Life Francis Burritt Thorne, Jr. was born in Bay Shore, New York. His father was a ragtime pianist ...
,
Dennis Russell Davies Dennis Russell Davies (born April 16, 1944 in Toledo, Ohio) is an American conductor and pianist, He is currently the music director and chief conductor of the Brno Philharmonic. Biography Davies studied piano and conducting at the Juilliard Sch ...
,
Paul Lustig Dunkel Paul Lustig Dunkel (July 22, 1943 – January 14, 2018) was an American flutist and conductor. From 1983 to 2008, he served as music director of the Westchester Philharmonic. He also taught at the New England Conservatory, the Eastman School ...
and Nicolas Roussakis co-founded the ACO in 1975. The ACO gave its first performance on 7 February 1977 at
Alice Tully Hall Alice Tully Hall is a concert hall at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in the Upper West Side neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. The hall is named for Alice Tully, a New York performer and philanthropist whose donations assist ...
at
Lincoln Center Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 millio ...
. Davies served as the ACO's founding music director from 1977 to 2002, and now has the title of conductor laureate with the ACO. In November 2000,
Steven Sloane Steven Sloane (born 1958) is an Israeli- American conductor. Biography Born in Los Angeles, California, Sloane developed an interest in conducting at age 16. He graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles with a degree in music. ...
was named the ACO's new music director, effective with the 2002–2003 season. The appointment was unusual in that Sloane had not conducted the ACO prior to his appointment. Sloane's first conducting appearance with the ACO was in March 2002, and his ACO tenure began in November 2002. He held the post through 2006. In 2010,
George Manahan George Manahan (born 1952, Atlanta, Georgia, USA) is an American conductor. Biography Manahan's parents were church musicians. In high school, he was a drum major in his high school marching band, and also conducted this band. Another of his earl ...
became music director of ACO. In January 2021, the ACO announced that Manahan is to conclude his music directorship of the ACO on 1 July 2021, and subsequently to take the title of music director emeritus. The ACO is the only orchestra in the world solely dedicated to the creation, performance, preservation, and promulgation of music by American composers. ACO has performed music by over 500 American composers, including over 100 world premieres and new commissions. In the 1990s, the ACO added new initiatives such as the Underwood New Music Readings, for young composers to hear their works rehearsed and recorded, and the 'Sonidos de las Américas' festival, focused on Latin-American music. In 2008, ACO expanded on the success of its ''Underwood New Music Readings'' to launch ''EarShot'', the first-ever national partnership created to strengthen and support orchestras in their commitment to up-and-coming American composers and their music. Musicians of the American Composers Orchestra have included
Eva Gruesser The Lark Quartet was a New York-based, all female string quartet that operated from 1985 to 2019. It is acknowledged for its distinguished contribution to the string quartet repertoire, commissioning new works from some of America's most celebrat ...
, Steve Lehman,
Kelly Hall-Tompkins Kelly Hall-Tompkins is a professional violinist and the founder of Music Kitchen-Food for the Soul, a program that lifts the spirits of homeless New Yorkers through live classical music recitals. She has performed as "The Fiddler", as a violin so ...
,
Ethan Iverson Ethan Iverson (born February 11, 1973) is a pianist, composer, and critic best known for his work in the avant-garde jazz trio The Bad Plus with bassist Reid Anderson and drummer Dave King. Biography Iverson was born in Menomonie, Wisconsin. ...
and Edward W. Hardy.
Robert Beaser Robert Beaser (born May 29, 1954, Boston, Massachusetts) is an American composer. Biography Beaser was brought up in a non-musical family. His father was a physician and mother was a chemist. He grew up in Newton, Massachusetts, where he dist ...
was the ACO's composer-in-residence from 1988 to 1993, then had the title of artistic adviser through January 2001, at which time he took the title of artistic director. Beaser now has the title of artistic director laureate of the ACO.
Derek Bermel Derek Bermel (born 1967, in New York City) is an American composer, clarinetist and conductor whose music blends various facets of world music, funk and jazz with largely classical performing forces and musical vocabulary. He is the recipie ...
was the ACO's composer-in-residence from 2006 to 2009, and was the ACO's artistic director from 2013 to 2022. In December 2022, the ACO announced the appointment of Curtis Stewart as its next artistic director. ACO has received a number of honours from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, BMI, and ASCAP, for its programming. ACO also received the inaugural METLife Award for Excellence in Audience Engagement, and a proclamation from the New York City Council. ACO recordings are available on ARGO, CRI, ECM, Point, Phoenix USA, MusicMasters, Nonesuch, Tzadik, and New World Records.


Music directors

*
Dennis Russell Davies Dennis Russell Davies (born April 16, 1944 in Toledo, Ohio) is an American conductor and pianist, He is currently the music director and chief conductor of the Brno Philharmonic. Biography Davies studied piano and conducting at the Juilliard Sch ...
(1977–2002) *
Steven Sloane Steven Sloane (born 1958) is an Israeli- American conductor. Biography Born in Los Angeles, California, Sloane developed an interest in conducting at age 16. He graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles with a degree in music. ...
(2002–2006) *
George Manahan George Manahan (born 1952, Atlanta, Georgia, USA) is an American conductor. Biography Manahan's parents were church musicians. In high school, he was a drum major in his high school marching band, and also conducted this band. Another of his earl ...
(2010–2021)


References


External links

* American Composers Orchestra Contemporary classical music ensembles Musical groups established in 1977 1977 establishments in New York City Orchestras based in New York City {{US-orchestra-stub