Australian Chamber Orchestra US Tour March 31-April 14, 2019

March 24, 2019 (New York, NY) – Next week, The Australian Chamber Orchestra (ACO) will return to the US for a two-week tour of North America where it will present eight concerts over 15 days in New York, Boston, Northern and Southern California, New Jersey, Virginia and Indiana. On the ACO’s first return to the United States in nearly three years, “the finest chamber orchestra on earth” (The Telegraph) will be joined by internationally renowned pianists Paul Lewis and Inon Barnatan as part of Lincoln Center's Great Performers series in New York, The Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa, CA and a list of eminent US concert halls (see complete dates below). 
 
The ACO will perform three different program compilations comprised of JS Bach’s The Art of Fugue, Mozart’s Piano Concerto No.12 and Violin Concerto No.3 (featuring Artistic Director Richard Tognetti as soloist) and Beethoven’s String Quartet, Op.130 and Grosse Fuge, Op.133.  On this 19^thvisit to the US, the ACO will also present the US premiere of Samuel Adams’ Movements (for us and them). Commissioned by the ACO and Stanford Live, the Adams piece had its world premiere in a critically-acclaimed national tour across Australia, including multiple sell-out performances in Sydney and Melbourne, in June 2018. Of that performance, the Canberra Times praised Samuel Adams’ Movements (for us and them), saying “the performance stole the show…Adams' work creates in sound music on which to balance the weight of the world.  I was moved by the subtle emotional power of this new work.”
 
“I heard the Australian Chamber Orchestra back in 2013 in my hometown of Berkeley, California,” writes Adams, “and was immediately captivated by its sound.  It was as if the world’s greatest string quartet had put on an Iron Man suit, amplifying the precision and physicality of a small chamber ensemble to a group of 17 musicians.  It was a hair-raising experience, and I’m honored to dedicate my new work to this wonderful group.”
 
North America remains an important international touring destination for the ACO. “The ACO is Australia’s busiest touring orchestra, having toured internationally over 65 times in its 44-year history, and is regarded as one of the world’s great chamber ensembles,” says ACO Managing Director Richard Evans. “The ACO has a long and successful history of touring to North America, which continues to be one of the Orchestra’s major international touring priorities alongside the UK and Europe, and Japan. We very much look forward to returning to the US for the first time in three years to perform for audiences across the country, as well as engaging in outreach activities with students at Folsom Lake College and Virginia Tech.”

The ACO’s US tour will mark the first of two international tours in the Orchestra’s 2019 Season. In October 2019 the ACO will return to the UK for its second season in-residence as International Associate Ensemble at Milton Court at London’s Barbican Centre, following its critically acclaimed sell-out inaugural season in-residence in 2018. Prior to this residency in one of the UK’s most prestigious concert halls, the ACO was invited by His Royal Highness Charles, The Prince of Wales, to perform at a special gala event at Buckingham Palace held in the ACO’s honour in 2017.

The ACO is fortunate to have established a broad international network of supporters. This includes two international boards who support the ACO’s international touring activities: ACO UK in London and ACO US in New York.
 
About the Australian Chamber Orchestra
The Australian Chamber Orchestra lives and breathes music, making waves around the world for their explosive performances and brave interpretations. Steeped in history but always looking to the future, ACO programs embrace celebrated classics alongside new commissions, and adventurous crossartform collaborations. Led by Artistic Director Richard Tognetti since 1990, the ACO performs more than 100 concerts each year. Whether performing in Manhattan, New York, or Wollongong, NSW, the ACO is unwavering in their commitment to creating transformative musical experiences. The Orchestra regularly collaborates with artists and musicians who share their ideology: from Emmanuel Pahud, Steven Isserlis, Dawn Upshaw, Olli Mustonen, Brett Dean and Ivry Gitlis, to Neil Finn, Jonny Greenwood, Barry Humphries and Meow Meow; to visual artists and film makers such as Michael Leunig, Bill Henson, Shaun Tan, Jon Frank, and Jennifer Peedom, who have co-created unique, hybrid productions for which the ACO has become renowned. Testament to their international reputation, the ACO were invited to commence a three-year residency as International Associate Ensemble at Milton Court in partnership with London’s Barbican Centre from the 2018/19 season. This residency at one of Europe’s most prestigious concert venues follows on from the success of ACO Artistic Director Richard Tognetti’s time as the Barbican’s first ever Artist-in-Residence at Milton Court Concert Hall. In addition to their national and international touring schedule, the Orchestra has an active recording program across CD, vinyl and digital formats. Their recordings of Bach’s violin works won three consecutive ARIA Awards. Recent releases include Water | Night Music, the first Australian-produced classical vinyl for two decades, Mozart’s Last Symphonies, Bach Beethoven: Fugue and the soundtrack to the acclaimed cinematic collaboration, Mountain.

About Richard Tognetti
Richard Tognetti is Artistic Director of the Australian Chamber Orchestra. He has established an international reputation for his compelling performances and artistic individualism.
 
Richard began his studies in his home town of Wollongong with William Primrose, then with Alice Waten at the Sydney Conservatorium, and Igor Ozim at the Bern Conservatory, where he was awarded the Tschumi Prize as the top graduate soloist in 1989. Later that year he led several performances of the Australian Chamber Orchestra, and that November was appointed as the Orchestra’s lead violin and, subsequently, Artistic Director.

Richard performs on period, modern and electric instruments and his numerous arrangements, compositions and transcriptions have expanded the chamber orchestra repertoire and been performed throughout the world. As director or soloist, Tognetti has appeared with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, the Academy of Ancient Music, Slovene Philharmonic Orchestra, Handel & Haydn Society (Boston), Hong Kong Philharmonic, Camerata Salzburg, Tapiola Sinfonietta, Irish Chamber Orchestra, Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg, Nordic Chamber Orchestra and all the major Australian symphony orchestras, most recently as soloist and director with the Melbourne and Tasmanian Symphony Orchestras. Richard also performed the Australian premieres of Ligeti’s Violin Concerto and Lutoslawski’s Partita. In November 2016, he became the Barbican Centre’s first Artist-in-Residence at Milton Court Concert Hall in London. Richard created the Huntington Festival in Mudgee, New South Wales and was Artistic Director of the Festival Maribor in Slovenia from 2008 to 2015.

Richard was the co-composer of the score for Peter Weir’s Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, starring Russell Crowe; he co-composed the soundtrack to Tom Carroll’s surf film Storm Surfers; and created The Red Tree, inspired by Shaun Tan’s book. He also created the documentary film Musica Surfica, as well as The Glide, The Reef, and The Crowd. Most recently, Richard collaborated with Director Jennifer Peedom and Stranger Than Fiction Films to create the film Mountain for the ACO.

Richard was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2010. He holds honorary doctorates from three Australian universities and was made a National Living Treasure in 1999. He performs on a 1743 Guarneri del Gesù violin, lent to him by an anonymous Australian private benefactor.