American Composers Orchestra Announces 2024-2025 Season Highlights

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 
Contact: Katy Salomon | Primo Artists | VP, Public Relations 
katy@primoartists.com | 212.837.8466 

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American Composers Orchestra Announces 2024-2025 Season Highlights

Annual Concert Season Presented by Carnegie Hall:
October 30, 2024 – The New Virtuoso: Borders, Led by Mei-Ann Chen, Features Works that Defy Genre Expectations for a Solo Instrument by Michael Abels, Kebra-Seyoun Charles, Curtis Stewart, Paul Novak and Victoria Polevá, Performed by Mak Grgic, Inbal Segev and Curtis Stewart

March 9, 2025 – Hello, America: Transatlantic Features Music from Various Parts of Latin America, Highlighting its Influence on Jazz and “Classical” Music in the U.S., Including ACO Commissions from Clarice Assad, Edmar Castañeda, and Tomàs Peire Serrate

Interactive Live Performance of Austin Wintory’s GRAMMY®-Nominated Score 
for Video Game Journey at BAM (Brooklyn Academy of Music)

Hosting International EarShot Readings at National Arts Centre in Canada and National Readings at Manhattan School of Music & Collaboration with Indiana University's Jacobs School of Music

Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation Orchestral Commissions Program Premieres Presented in Partnership with the League of American Orchestras at the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Idaho State Civic Symphony, Jacksonville Symphony, Akron Symphony Orchestra, Utah Symphony & Opera, Naples Philharmonic, Grand Rapids Symphony, Tucson Symphony Orchestra, Cincinnati Pops, Vermont Symphony Orchestra, Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra, Quad City Symphony Orchestra, Memphis Symphony Orchestra, and Berkeley Symphony

Malachi Brown, Kebra-Seyoun Charles, and Jordyn Davis Awarded Two-Year New York Community Trust Van Lier Fellowships 

“In an ideal musical world there would be no need for an orchestra
dedicated to performing new and recent works by American composers.
That mission would be crucial to every American orchestra.
But we don’t live in an ideal musical world.” – The New York Times

www.americancomposers.org
 

New York, NY (August 12, 2024) –  Hailed as an “essential organization” (The New York Times) with “an expansive vision of orchestral composition” (Represent Classical), the American Composers Orchestra (ACO) announces its 2024-2025 season highlights. This upcoming season brings ACO’s annual series presented by Carnegie Hall, including The New Virtuoso: Borders, led by Mei-Ann Chen, featuring works that question the nature and effect of political, gender, and ecological borders by Michael Abels, Kebra-Seyoun Charles, Curtis Stewart, Paul Novak, and Victoria Polevá, performed by Mak Grgic, Inbal Segev, Kebra-Seyoun Charles, and Curtis Stewart; and Hello, America: Transatlantic, which features music from various parts of Latin America and examines its influence on jazz and “classical” music in the U.S., including ACO commissions from Clarice Assad, Edmar Castañeda, and Tomàs Peire Serrate; interactive live performances of Austin Wintory’s GRAMMY®-Nominated Score for video game Journey at BAM (Brooklyn Academy of Music) presented by Ode to Joy; as well as national EarShot Readings, regional orchestral premieres of the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation Orchestral Commission works, and the support of three newly-announced New York Community Trust Van Lier Fellows.

On October 30, 2024, ACO performs The New Virtuoso: Borders at Zankel Hall in Carnegie Hall. The New Virtuoso is a series of programs featuring works that defy genre expectations for a solo instrument, and in doing so carve out novel texture, affect and technique in Symphonic composition. With conductor Mei-Ann Chen on the podium, this concert features guitarist Mak Grgic, cellist Inbal Segev, and violinist Curtis Stewart. American Composers Orchestra will perform new work, commissioned by ACO and developed via EarShot CoLABoratory as a World Premiere, by CoLABoratory Fellow Kebra-Seyoun Charles; Paul Novak, whose work, Forest Migrations, is an EarShot Readings commission and World Premiere; and ACO Artistic Director Curtis Stewart’s ACO commission, Embrace; alongside Michael Abels’ Borders and Victoria Polevá’s The Bell.

On October 15, 2024, American Composers Orchestra hosts Raise Up!: 2024 Gala and Creative Catalyst Awards at Bryant Park Grill in New York City. This annual gala, co-chaired by Dr. Indira Etwaroo, Melin Tan-Geller, MD, and Lana Turner, honors the contributions of creatives working in the contemporary orchestral music space whose impact will resonate for years to come. Honorees include Regina Carter, ‍MacArthur Fellow, Doris Duke Award recipient and multi-GRAMMY® Award nominated violinist, Hollis King, ‍Emeritus Creative Director and VP, Verve Group, and the BMI Foundation, Inc., which supports creators of American music through awards, scholarships, grants and commissions. Regina Carter, Claudia Acuña, Kebra-Seyoun Charles, and Harlem Samba will perform.

On December 6 and 7, 2024, ACO performs at BAM (Brooklyn Academy of Music) with composer and conductor Austin Wintory for an original, interactive live performance of Wintory’s Grammy-nominated score for iconic video game Journey, “the most beautiful game of its time" (IGN). Never the same each time it is played, Journey LIVE is an interactive parable, marking an unprecedented formal exploration in which live musicians respond to the actions of video game players—in real time—on stage. In this alchemical collision of mediums, BAM teams up with composer/conductor Austin Wintory, American Composers Orchestra, and Ode to Joy to present an original, interactive live performance.

On March 6, 2025, ACO returns to Carnegie Hall for Hello, America: Transatlantic, featuring music from various parts of Latin America and its influence on jazz and “Classical” music in the United States. Conductor Tito Muñoz leads ACO in the performance of works including Clarice Assad’s Evolution of AI, an ACO Commission and World Premiere; CoLABoratory Fellow Edmar Castañeda’s new work; the World Premiere Arrangement of Alice Coltrane Turiyasangitananda’s Going Home; Tania León’s work Ácana, and Tomàs Peire Serrate, whose new work is an EarShot Readings commission. Guest artists Clarice Assad (vocals and electronics), Edmar Castañeda (harp), and percussion ensemble Harlem Samba join ACO onstage. Both Carnegie Hall programs feature works commissioned and developed by American Composer Orchestra’s signature EarShot Readings. This concert is part of Carnegie Hall’s season-long Nuestros sonidos festival.

American Composer Orchestra’s signature EarShot Readings, a collaboration with American Composers Forum, the League of American Orchestras, and New Music USA, continue in the 2024-2025 season. This eight month professional development process for composers with finished orchestral scores culminates in multi-day in-person Readings with a professional orchestra. On October 28–29, 2024, EarShot Readings: National Arts Centre Orchestra will be presented by Canada’s National Arts Centre in Ottawa with Henry Kennedy, the National Arts Centre Orchestra's newly-appointed Resident Conductor, and Jimmy López Bellido, Ana Sokolovic and Dinuk Wijeratne acting as mentor composers. On June 5–6, 2025, EarShot Readings: American Composers Orchestra will be presented in Neidorff-Karpati Hall at the Manhattan School of Music. Additional partnerships will be announced later in the season as more information becomes available. American Composers Orchestra will also award a $15,000 commission to one Readings participant.

After a highly successful EarShot Readings collaboration with Indiana University's Jacobs School of Music during the 2023-24 season, ACO partners with IU once again in a new model that will include an initial set of composer workshops with orchestra in March 2025, followed by EarShot Readings in the fall of 2025 featuring newly composed works emerging from the spring workshops and subsequent mentorship sessions. Within this new model, working with IU faculty, ACO staff, and mentor composers, EarShot participants will have the opportunity to deepen both the collaborative processes and levels of creativity in the creation of new orchestral works.

EarShot Readings is a national composer development program that serves as the nation’s first systemic program for building relationships between composers and orchestras nationwide, promoting diverse talent and cultivating the careers of composers.

As a vital conduit for new voices in orchestral music, EarShot presents three major programs: Readings with orchestras around the country to mentor and promote new composing talent, CoLABoratory Fellowships, advancing work by composers whose work is experimental or rooted in underrepresented traditions, and Commissions, providing opportunities for last year’s featured EarShot composers to compose new works for major orchestras.

EarShot CoLABoratory Residencies, for composers with an idea but no written score, advance the work of artists whose work is experimental or underrepresented in the orchestral repertoire. In 2025, Indigenous artists Suzanne Kite, Laura Ortman, Michael Begay, and Raven Chacon will workshop their first orchestral pieces, which the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and Tucson Symphony Orchestra will premiere. Tucson Symphony Orchestra continues their workshop partnership with EarShot CoLABoratory Residencies this season, and they are joined by South Dakota Symphony Orchestra. Kebra-Seyoun Charles, Joseph C. Phillips, Jr., Edmar Castañeda, Mali Irene, Kian Ravaei, Horacio Fernández Vázquez, Jordyn Davis, Mazz Swift, and Shelley Washington will also complete residencies.

ACO partners with The Juilliard School (NYC), Bienen School of Music (Chicago), Eastman School of Music, University of Rochester (Rochester), Curtis Institute of Music (Philadelphia), and Sphinx (Detroit) on “(Re)loading the Canon,” a commissioning consortium to develop a series of eight minute violin, viola, cello, and bass concertos by Black and Latine composers. Four concertos will be completed during the 2024-2025 season, with premiere performances and recording sessions in fall 2025 and performances at the 2027 Sphinx competition.

American Composers Orchestra’s Sonic Spark residencies nurture the imagination through creative rituals and play, cultivating personal, social, and academic growth. In 2024-2025, Sonic Spark will serve 515 students at seven NYC high and middle schools. In response to requests from music teachers working with youth ensembles, American Composers Orchestra is also commissioning a series of works by Black/Latine composers for young musicians to perform from four composers who self-identify as Black and/or Latine and previously participated in EarShot activities. These composers, including inti figgis-vizueta, Joseph C. Philips, Jr., Kebra-Seyoun Charles, and Michael R. Dudley Jr., will have both versions of their EarShot work – one for professional orchestra and one for youth orchestra – represented by American Composers Orchestra’s publishing arm. Launched in 2024, EarShot Publishing administers the rights for select orchestral works developed through its national EarShot composer advancement initiatives, which include Readings, CoLABoratory Fellowships, and other commissioning opportunities. American Composers Orchestra partnered with Boosey & Hawkes, an international leader in classical music publishing, to administer the EarShot Publishing catalog worldwide. Through this initiative, ACO extends composers’ EarShot experience by providing access to artist-centric publishing agreements and connections to its national network of orchestras.

American Composers Orchestra continues The Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation Orchestral Commissions Program; established in partnership with League of American Orchestras. Performances from two 30-orchestra consortia established over the last two years continue into next season with supporting commissions by six women and nonbinary EarShot alumni. Each composer writes a six to eight minute orchestral work and develops an educational or community-focused program presented in partnership with each orchestra. In the 2024-2025 season, ten composers will have their works performed by 15 orchestras across the United States: Wang Lu (Aspen, Cincinnati), Sarah Gibson (Idaho State), Brittany Green (Jacksonville, Fayetteville), Gity Razaz (Akron, Berkley), Angel Lam (Jacksonville, Utah, Quad City), Melina Tsui (Naples), Marina Lopez (Grand Rapids), Chelsea Komschlies (Tucson, Vermont), Arlene Sierra (Dallas), and Karena Ingram (Memphis).

ACO’s first cohort of The New York Community Trust Van Lier Fellowships kicks off this season. ACO has been awarded a two-year grant of $100,000 to provide 8 to 12 month fellowships to six young composers. The artists selected for a New York Community Trust Van Lier Fellowship were NYC residents who have professional work as a composer at a high artistic standard but have yet to receive a major orchestral commission. Artists receive a commission fee, mentorship, workshops, recordings, and professional premiere, via American Composers Orchestra’s EarShot Readings or CoLABoratory Residencies. To select the artists, American Composers Orchestra held multiple open call for scores for its Readings programs in 2023-2024, as well as a specific CoLABoratory open call for ideas in January 2024. Artists selected for the first cohort of Fellows include composers Kebra-Seyoun Charles, Malachi Brown, and Jordyn Davis.

The New York Community Trust’s Edward and Sally Van Lier Fellowship Program provides support for talented young professionals (aged 18 to 30) from historically underrepresented populations who are dedicated to a career in the arts. Grants help arts groups provide young professional artists living and working in New York City with paid opportunities to create and present new work, as well as training, mentorship, and other support. Fellowships are intended to help young working artists achieve a significant professional credit that can lead to future opportunities and advance their careers.

A 2024-2025 CoLABoratory fellow and The New York Community Trust Van Lier Fellow, Kebra-Seyoun Charles’s commissioned work Bass Concerto (Nightlife) will see its world premiere with the American Composers Orchestra on October 30, 2024 at Zankel Hall in Carnegie Hall. Charles said, “The piece combines multiple styles and genres; a language I call counter-classicism. Mirroring the way people listen to music today, I seamlessly move between genres and rhythms, a quality that likens this piece to a playlist. I compose on the train often where I listen to music from Korngold, Mahler, and Bach. Then upon entering any concert venue, I'm met with music from SZA or Frankie Knuckles. Bass Concerto, subtitled Nightlife, is an exploration of the core tenet of music: dance. Throughout history, music has been used for dance, with classical music no exception. I take forms like the French Baroque Overture and infuse them with modern genres like house music, jazz, and especially gospel.” In addition to their solo career as a bassist, Kebra-Seyoun Charles is a passionate chamber musician, having played with groups like East Coast Chamber Orchestra, A Far Cry, Palaver Strings, and the Sphinx Virtuosi.

On June 13-14, 2024, American Composers Orchestra presented and performed its own EarShot Reading, featuring workshops with composer Malachi Brown’s work Statements: a journal entry, a chronology of the composer’s thoughts, experiences, and vision for the country over a period of time. Using these reflections as jumping-off points for finding peace in the midst of chaos, Brown shares in his program notes, “Statements is a series of pieces that serve as my own personal journal recapping a year or a moment in time I just lived. What I struggle to do with words, I do with my music. Statements: a journal entry is no exception to this, as it describes both a crucial moment in my life and the world, just as much as it illustrates a concept. This piece exists within the realm of the inauguration of the 45th president of the United States.” A cellist and composer born and raised in Norfolk, Virginia, Brown has composed for four films, including the multiple award-winning And Don’t Forget I Love You. He is working on two films projected to release in 2024, one of them being an animated short, The Candylady. In addition to composing and performing cello, Malachi acts in theater and film. He’s currently in a Bertolt Brecht play and has a web series role for later this year. Through his Van Lier Fellowship, Brown will write a new commission to be premiered in a future season.

Ground-breaking bassist, composer, singer-songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Jordyn Davis’s Each One, Teach One, developed with her band Composetheway, explores questions that push the boundaries of orchestral possibilities: namely, autonomy for individual players within an orchestral setting. Through collaborative efforts, Composetheway aims to coach and encourage orchestra musicians to apply their musicality beyond what is written on the page, fostering a dynamic and inclusive environment. Davis is the first African American woman to receive a Bachelor's Degree in Music Composition from Michigan State University and the first Michigan State student to receive a Bachelor's Degree in Music Composition and Jazz Studies concurrently. Davis has also completed a Master's Degree in Jazz Studies at Michigan State University and worked as a graduate teaching assistant. She recently relocated to Brooklyn, NY and was named one of two inaugural Jazz Leader Fellowship recipients by the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music. Davis has worked on the Tony-winning Broadway musical, New York, New York: A New Musical, and collaborated with Craig Harris and the contemporary dance company Urban Bush Women. She leads her own band/ensemble called Composetheway and released an EP entitled Connections in 2017.

American Composers Orchestra 2024-2025 Season Calendar

Tuesday, October 15, 2024, 6:30 PM
Raise Up!: 2024 Gala and Creative Catalyst Awards
Bryant Park Grill | 25 W. 40th St., New York City
Tickets: $600 – $25,000; a portion of all support levels are tax-deductible. ‍RSVP by September 30th.
Link: www.americancomposers.org/performances-events/2024-gala-and-creative-catalyst-awards

6:00pm – Cocktail Hour
7:00pm – Dinner & Performances

Honorees:
Regina Carter, ‍MacArthur Fellow, Doris Duke Award recipient, and multi-GRAMMY Award nominated violinist
Hollis King, ‍Emeritus Creative Director and VP, Verve Group
BMI Foundation, Inc., Supporting creators of American music through awards, scholarships, grants and commissions

Performances by: ‍
Regina Carter
Kebra-Seyoun Charles
Harlem Samba

Monday, October 28, 2024 – Tuesday, October 29, 2024
EarShot Readings: National Arts Centre Orchestra
Centrepointe Theatre | Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Link: www.americancomposers.org/performances-events/earshot-readings-national-arts-centre-orchestra

Program:
Featured Artists and Works TBA

National Arts Centre Orchestra
Henry Kennedy, conductor
Jimmy López Bellido, mentor composer
Ana Sokolovic, mentor composer
Dinuk Wijeratne, mentor composer

Wednesday, October 30, 2024, 7:30 PM
Carnegie Hall Presents American Composers Orchestra in The New Virtuoso: Borders
Zankel Hall, Carnegie Hall | New York City, NY
Tickets: Single tickets available August 12 at 11 AM ET, Subscriber/Member Presale: August 5 at 11 AM ET
Link: www.americancomposers.org/performances-events/new-virtuoso-borders

Mei-Ann Chen, conductor
Mak Grgic, guitar
Inbal Segev, cello
Curtis Stewart, violin and electronics

Program:
Michael Abels – Borders
Kebra-Seyoun Charles – Bass Concerto: Nightlife [ACO Commission, developed via EarShot CoLABoratory/World Premiere]
Curtis Stewart – Embrace [ACO Commission]
Paul Novak – Forest Migrations [ACO Commission/World Premiere]
Victoria Polevá – The Bell [NYC Premiere]

Friday, December 6, 2024 and Saturday, December 7, 2024
American Composers Orchestra Performs Journey LIVE
BAM Howard Gilman Opera House, Brooklyn Academy of Music | Brooklyn, NY
Tickets: Tickets start at $35, BAM Members & Patrons receive 20% off tickets through July 31. No promo code needed.
Link: www.bam.org/installation/2024/journey

Program:
Austin Wintory – Journey

Austin Wintory, composer & conductor
Ode to Joy, executive producer

Thursday, February 6, 2025 at 7:30 PM – Sunday, February 9, 2025 at 3:00 PM
CoLABoratory Concert “Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony” with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra
Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center | Dallas, Texas
Tickets: Tickets starting at $57
Link: www.dallassymphony.org/productions/beethovens-5th-symphony/

Program:
Raven Chacon – New Work [ACO Co-Commission with Dallas Symphony Orchestra and Tucson Symphony Orchestra, developed via EarShot CoLABoratory] [WORLD PREMIERE]
Max Bruch – Violin concerto
Ludwig van Beethoven – Symphony No. 5

Fabio Luisi, conductor
Alexander Kerr, violin

Friday, February 21, 2025 at 7:30 PM and Sunday, February 23, 2025 at 2:00 PM
CoLABoratory Concert “Dvorák And The American Experience” |Tucson Symphony Orchestra
Ronstadt Music Hall | Tucson, AZ
Tickets: $14 – $95
Link: www.tucsonsymphony.org/event/dvorak-and-the-american-experience/2025-02-21/

Program:
Antonin Dvorák – Slavonic Dance, Op. 72, No. 2
Antonin Dvorák – Slavonic Dance, Op. 46, No. 2
Antonin Dvorák – Violin Concerto
Raven Chacon – New Work [ACO Co-Commission with Dallas Symphony Orchestra and Tucson Symphony Orchestra, developed via EarShot CoLABoratory]
William Grant Still – Symphony No. 1 (“Afro-American Symphony”)

José Luis Gomez, conductor
Paul Huang, violin

Thursday, March 6, 2025, 7:30 PM
American Composers Orchestra “Hello, America: Transatlantic”
Zankel Hall, Carnegie Hall | New York City, NY
Tickets: Available August 12 at 11 AM, Subscriber/Member Presale: August 5 at 11 AM
Link: www.americancomposers.org/performances-events/hello-america-transatlantic

Program:
Clarice Assad – Evolution of AI [ACO Commission/World Premiere]
Edmar Castañeda – New Work [ACO Commission, developed via EarShot CoLABoratory/World Premiere]
Alice Coltrane Turiyasangitananda – Going Home, arr. Curtis Stewart [World Premiere Arrangement]
Tania León – Ácana
Tomàs Peire Serrate – New Work [ACO Commission/World Premiere]

Tito Muñoz, conductor
Clarice Assad, vocals and electronics
Edmar Castañeda, harp
Harlem Samba, percussion

Thursday, June 5, 2025 to Friday, June 6, 2025
EarShot Readings: American Composers Orchestra
Neidorff-Karpati Hall, Manhattan School of Music | New York City, NY
Tickets: Free and Open to the Public. Reservation Required.
Link: www.americancomposers.org/performances-events/earshot-readings-american-composers-orchestra-2025

Conductor TBA
Featured Artists and Works TBA
Mentor Composers TBA

Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation Orchestral Commissions Program 2024-2025 Concert Calendar

Friday, September 27, 2024 at 7:30 PM
“Looking Back, Looking Forward” | Idaho State-Civic Symphony
Jenson Grand Concert Hall | Pocatello, ID
Link: www.iscsymphony.org/24-25-season/

Program:
Sarah Gibson – to make this mountain taller [League of American Orchestras Commission with the generous support of the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation]
Samuel Barber – Knoxville: Summer of 1915, Op. 24
Sergei Rachmaninoff – Symphonic Dances, Op. 45

Friday, September 27 and Saturday, September 28, 2024, 7:30 PM
Jacksonville Center for the Performing Arts | Jacksonville, FL
Link: www.my.jaxsymphony.org/rachmaninoffs-second

Program:
Brittany J. Green – TBA [WORLD PREMIERE] [Commissioned by the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation Orchestral Commissions Program, an initiative of the League of American Orchestras in partnership with the American Composers Orchestra]
Sergei Rachmaninoff – Piano Concerto No. 2
Richard Strauss – A Hero’s Life

Saturday, October 19, 2024
Akron Symphony Orchestra
E. J. Thomas Hall | Akron, OH
Link: https://akronsymphony.org/concerts-events/

Program:
Gity Razaz – Methuselah (In Chains of Time) [League of American Orchestras Commission with the generous support of the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation]

Saturday October 26, 2024 at 7:30 PM – Sunday, October 27, 2024 at 2:00 PM
Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and Cincinnati Pops
Music Hall | Cincinnati, OH
Link: www.cincinnatisymphony.org/tickets-and-events/buy-tickets/cso/2425-cso-season/sibelius--saint-saens/

Program:
Wang Lu – Surge [League of American Orchestras Commission with the generous support of the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation]
Camille Saint-Saëns, – Violin Concerto No. 2
Jean Sibelius – Symphony No. 1

Friday, November 22, 2024 and Saturday, November 23 at 7:30 PM
Jacksonville Symphony
Jacksonville Center for the Performing Arts | Jacksonville, FL
Link: www.my.jaxsymphony.org/alexei-dvorak

Program:
Angel Lam – Let there be a paradise… [League of American Orchestras Commission with the generous support of the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation]
Antonín Dvorák – Cello Concerto
Ralph Vaughan Williams – Symphony No. 4

Friday, December 13, 2024 to Saturday, December 14, 2024, 7:30 PM
Utah Symphony & Opera
Maurice Abravanel Hall | Salt Lake City, UT
Link: www.utahsymphony.org/event/id/33382/

Program:
Angel Lam – Let there be a paradise… [League of American Orchestras Commission with the generous support of the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation]
Alexander Glazunov – The Seasons
Antonio Vivaldi – The Four Seasons

Friday, December 13, 2024 to Saturday, December 14, 2024, 7:30 PM
Artis––Naples, Naples Philharmonic
Hayes Hall | Naples, FL
Link: www.artisnaples.org/subscriptions/masterworks

Program:
Meilina Tsui – TBA [WORLD PREMIERE] [Commissioned by the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation Orchestral Commissions Program, an initiative of the League of American Orchestras in partnership with the American Composers Orchestra]
Felix Mendelssohn – Violin Concerto
Felix Mendelssohn – A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Friday, January 10, 2025 to Saturday, January 11, 2025, 7:30 PM
“Sax and the City” | Grand Rapids Symphony
DeVos Performance Hall | Grand Rapids, MI
Link: www.grsymphony.org/sax

Program:
Marina López – TBA [WORLD PREMIERE] [Commissioned by the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation Orchestral Commissions Program, an initiative of the League of American Orchestras in partnership with the American Composers Orchestra]
John Corigliano – Triathlon
Aaron Copland – Quiet City
Leonard Bernstein – Symphonic Dances from West Side Story

Saturday, February 1, 2025 at 2:00 PM and 7:30 PM to Sunday February 2, 2025 at 2:00 PM
Tucson Symphony Orchestra
Catalina Foothills High School | Tucson, AZ
Link: www.tucsonsymphony.org/event/mahler-and-schumann/2025-02-01/1/

Program:
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor – Ballade
Chelsea Komschlies – TBA [WORLD PREMIERE] [Commissioned by the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation Orchestral Commissions Program, an initiative of the League of American Orchestras in partnership with the American Composers Orchestra]
Gustav Mahler – Rückert-Lieder
Robert Schumann – Symphony No. 3, “Rhenish”

Saturday, February 22, 2025 at 7:30 PM
Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra
Fayetteville, NC
Link: https://ci.ovationtix.com/36404/production/1198898?performanceId=11466141

Program:
Ahmed Al Abaca – TBA
Brittany J. Green – Testify  [Commissioned by the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation Orchestral Commissions Program, an initiative of the League of American Orchestras in partnership with the American Composers Orchestra]
Antonín Dvorák – New World Symphony

Thursday, March 6, 2025 at 7:30 PM to Saturday, March 9, 2025 at 3:00 PM
Dallas Symphony Orchestra
Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center | Dallas, TX
Link: www.dallassymphony.org/productions/rachmaninoffs-piano-concerto-no-3/

Program:
Sophia Jani –  TBA [WORLD PREMIERE]
Sergei Rachmaninoff – Piano Concerto No. 3
Arlene Sierra – Kiskadee [League of American Orchestras Commission with the generous support of the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation]
Richard Strauss – Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks

Saturday, April 6, 2025, 7:30 PM and Sunday, April 6, 2025, 2:00 PM
“Masterworks VI: Rhapsody in Blue” | Quad City Symphony Orchestra
Robert A. and Patricia K. Hanson Symphony Arts Center | Davenport, IA
Link: www.qcso.org/event/masterworks-vi-rhapsody-in-blue/

Program:
Angel Lam –  Let there be a paradise…[League of American Orchestras Commission with the generous support of the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation]
George Gershwin –  Rhapsody in Blue
Sergei Prokofiev – Symphony No. 5, Op. 100 in B-Flat Major

Saturday, May 17, 2025, 7:30 PM and Sunday, May 18, 2025, 2:30 PM
Memphis Symphony Orchestra
Cannon Center and Scheidt Center | Memphis, TN
Link: https://memphissymphony.org/

Program:
Karena Ingram –  TBA [WORLD PREMIERE] [Commissioned by the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation Orchestral Commissions Program, an initiative of the League of American Orchestras in partnership with the American Composers Orchestra]
Saint-Saëns - Piano Concerto No. 5 “Egyptian”
Rachmaninoff - Symphony No. 2

Sunday, June 1, 2025
“Triumph” | Berkeley Symphony
Zellerbach Hall, UC Berkeley | Berkeley, CA
Link: www.berkeleysymphony.org/event/triumph/

Program:
Gity Razaz – Methuselah (In Chains of Time) [League of American Orchestras Commission with the generous support of the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation]
Astor Piazzolla – Aconcagua, Concerto for Bandoneon, String Orchestra and Percussion
Dmitri Shostakovich – Symphony No. 5 in D minor, Op. 47

About American Composers Orchestra
In 1977, a collective of fearless New York City musicians came together to form the American Composers Orchestra (ACO), an ensemble dedicated to the creation, celebration, performance, and promotion of orchestral music by American composers. Over more than 40 years committed to artistry, creativity, community and equity, ACO has blossomed into a national institution that not only cultivates and develops the careers of living composers, but also provides composers a direct pipeline to partnerships with many of America’s major symphony orchestras.

In addition to its annual season, presented by Carnegie Hall since 1987, the ACO serves as a New York City hub where the most forward-thinking experimental American musicians come together to hone and realize new art by developing talent, established composers, and underrepresented voices, increasing the regional, national, and international awareness of the infinite variety of American orchestral music.

ACO produces national educational programs for all ages, and composer advancement programs to foster a community of creators, audience, performers, collaborators, and funders – all dedicated to American composition.To date, ACO has performed music by 800 American composers, including over 350 world premieres and newly commissioned works. Recent and notable commissioned composers include John Luther Adams, Andy Akiho, Clarice Assad, Carlos Bandera, Courtney Bryan, Valerie Coleman, Dai Wei, Du Yun, inti figgis-vizueta, Marcus Gilmore, Vijay Iyer, Yvette Janine Jackson, Joan La Barbara, Steve Lehman, Tania León, Paula Matthusen, Trevor New, Mendi Keith Obadike, Ellen Reid, Daniel Bernard Roumain, Carlos Simon, Henry Threadgill, and many more.

Now encompassing all of ACO’s composer advancement initiatives, EarShot is the first ongoing, systematic program for developing relationships between composers and orchestras on the national level. Through orchestral readings, CoLABoratory fellowships, consortium commissions, publishing, and professional development, EarShot ensures a vibrant musical future by investing in creativity today. Serving over 350 composers since inception, ACO Readings in NYC began in 1991, and since 2008, national Readings have been offered in partnership with orchestras across the country in collaboration with American Composers Forum, the League of American Orchestras, and New Music USA. EarShot Readings composers have gone on to win every major composition award, including the Pulitzer, Grammy, Grawemeyer, American Academy of Arts and Letters, and Rome Prizes.

ACO has received numerous awards for its work, including those from the American Academy of Arts and Letters and from BMI Foundation, Inc., recognizing the orchestra’s outstanding contribution to American music. ASCAP has awarded ACO its annual prize for adventurous programming 35 times, singling out ACO as “the orchestra that has done the most for new American music in the United States.” ACO received the inaugural MetLife Award for Excellence in Audience Engagement, and a proclamation from the New York City Council. Learn more at www.americancomposers.org.

Photo Credit: Pete Checchia

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The commission of a new work by Paul Novak is generously funded by Mr. and Mrs. Paul Underwood.

Lead support for the New York premiere of Victoria Polevá’s The Bell is provided by an Anonymous donor.

Borders by Michael Abels has been funded in part with the support of the Jeffery Cotton Award, a program of the BMI Foundation, Inc. More information about composer Jeffery Cotton (1957-2013) is available at jefferycotton.com.

Embrace by Curtis Stewart has been made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature.

Bass Concerto: Nightlife by Kebra-Seyoun Charles is commissioned by Jess Ting and was developed through the American Composers Orchestra's EarShot CoLABoratory program.

 The commission of new works by Edmar Castañeda, Tomàs Peire Serrate, Laura Ortman, Michael Begay, and Raven Chacon is made possible with the support of Elizabeth and Justus Schlichting.

Works commissioned by American Composers Orchestra via EarShot: Advancing Equity through Publishing & Repertoire Development are made possible through support from the Sphinx Organization, and administered by EarShot Publishing, exclusive publisher, in partnership with Boosey & Hawkes, sole licensing agent.

The New York Community Trust Van Lier Fellowships for Malachi Brown, Kebra-Seyoun Charles and Jordyn Davis are made possible by The New York Community Trust’s Musical Arts Fund, Clara Lewisohn Rossin Trust, and Edward and Sally Van Lier Fund.

American Composers Orchestra is grateful to the many other organizations that make its programs possible including Arthur F. & Alice E. Adams Charitable Fund, Altman Foundation, Amphion Foundation, Benevity, Aaron Copland Fund for Music, BMI Foundation, Inc., BMI, Inc., Charity Navigator's Giving Basket, Cheswatyr Foundation, Edward T. Cone Foundation, Communities Foundation of Texas, The Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation, Alice M. Ditson Fund of Columbia University, Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, Ford Foundation’s Good Neighbor Committee, Give Lively, Francis B. Goelet Charitable Trust, Fromm Music Foundation, Steven R. Gerber Trust,G. Schirmer/Wise Music Foundation, The Hearst Foundation, Howard Gilman Foundation, Jephson Educational Trusts, Jerome Foundation, MacMillan Family Foundation, Mellon Foundation, New Music USA’s Organization Fund, The New York Community Trust (Musical Arts Fund, Clara Lewisohn Rossin Trust, and Edward and Sally Van Lier Fund), Pacific Harmony Foundation, Paypal Giving Fund, Rexford Fund, Sphinx Organization, TD Charitable Foundation, Turrell Fund, UKOGF Foundation, Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation.

Corporate gifts to match employee contributions are made by Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank, Triton Container International Incorporated of North America, and Neiman Marcus.

Public funds are provided by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, and the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature, and the National Endowment for the Arts.