About the American Classical Orchestra

The American Classical Orchestra recreates the sound world of the master composers.

The ACO is devoted to preserving and performing the repertoire of 17th, 18th and 19th century composers. By playing the music on period instruments and using historic performance technique, they attempt to recreate the sounds an audience would have experienced when the music was written and first performed. They pass along skills and appreciation for this practice to future generations through concert performances and educational programs.

Because period instruments were made of different materials, they produce a profoundly different sound from the 20th century instruments used in modern orchestras. Period instruments, with their softer and more transparent tone, produce a delicacy in the gentler phrases and a pungent bite in the stronger passages. Using period instruments, the ACO can, in the 21st century, bring audiences closer to the musical genius of Bach, Mozart, Beethoven and other master composers.

The American Classical Orchestra, under the direction of founder Thomas Crawford, is New York City’s leading period instrument orchestra. Comprised of the nation’s finest period instrumentalists, the ACO plays an annual series at Lincoln Center and produces the award-winning educational program Classical Music for Kids. Founded in 1984 as the Orchestra of the Old Fairfield Academy, the orchestra was renamed American Classical Orchestra in 2005, when Mr. Crawford established its permanent home in New York City. In the City, the Orchestra has won critical praise for its recordings, educational programs, and concerts, such as appearances on the Lincoln Center Great Performers Series and at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The American Classical Orchestra is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization.