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ARTISTRY, CREATIVITY, OPPORTUNITY
Who we are. The American Composers Orchestra (ACO) is a national discovery and development pipeline for new orchestral music, focused on bringing the full spectrum of American music to orchestral stages, providing a gateway to the orchestral composition and performance process, and amplifying the expressive power of orchestral music to enable a vibrant future for all Americans. We've made incredible strides over the past 4+ decades, and we are just getting started.
What we do. For composers of all experience levels, we offer an end-to-end composition accelerator to get you from idea to performance in partnership with orchestras nationwide. For orchestral commissioners, we offer a comprehensive suite of resources and relationships to realize your artistic vision. For students and educators, we offer an array of programs and resources designed to nurture creativity through music composition and improvisation. For our country, we bring new works into the world that represent the American experience through the imagination of today’s composers.
Meet ACO
Founded in 1977 by a collective of fearless musicians based in NYC, the American Composers Orchestra expands the definition of American orchestral music to ensure a vibrant and inclusive future. Over more than 40 years committed to artistry, creativity, community, and equity, ACO has blossomed into a national institution that cultivates and develops the careers of living composers, providing a direct pipeline to meaningful partnerships with orchestras across the country.
Composer Advancement
For over 40 years, ACO has discovered and developed the careers of composers whose work expands the definition of American orchestral music. Our national EarShot composer advancement initiatives are the nation’s first ongoing, systemic program for building relationships between composers and orchestras through Readings, CoLABoratory fellowships, consortium commissions, and professional development.
Performances and Events
Join us for electrifying performances featuring world premiere works by artists whose creativity knows no bounds. The American Composers Orchestra performs at Carnegie Hall, the DiMenna Center for Classical Music, the Apollo Theater, and beyond.
Educational Programs
For 30 years, ACO has positioned music composition as a gateway to creative thinking, problem solving, and self-expression. Our long-term Sonic Spark residencies nurture the imagination through creative rituals and play, cultivating personal, social, and academic growth. Sonic Spark serves students at all levels of experience, including those who have never played an instrument before, are learning to write music for the first time, or are on track to develop high level careers in the field.
Featured Artists
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With outstanding virtuosity and the rare ability to communicate their ideas effortlessly to audiences, Kebra is poised to be a leader of their generation. In line with their upbringing, Kebra-Seyoun is able to give prominence to dance qualities in all forms of music. In addition to their solo career, Kebra-Seyoun Charles is a passionate chamber musician. Playing with groups like the East Coast Chamber Orchestra, A Far Cry, Palaver Strings, and the Sphinx Virtuosi affords Kebra the opportunity to showcase their musicianship while still playing within an ensemble. Kebra-Seyoun is a featured performer at ACO's 2024 Gala. You can also see Kebra-Seyoun premiere their latest ACO-commissioned work Nightlife at Carnegie Hall on October 30th.
Originally from Bogotá (Colombia) and based in Brooklyn, NY, celebrated Latin Grammy Award-winning percussionist and composer Samuel Torres thrives at the intersection of Afro-Latin rhythms, Latin jazz, and contemporary classical music. Torres has performed, arranged, produced, and/or recorded with the “who’s who” of the jazz, Latin pop and the salsa world. He has been featured as a composer and soloist with numerous classical orchestras. Torres won the Latin Grammy Award for the Best Classical Record with his album Regreso, a concerto for congas and symphony orchestra in 2019. Torres was a 2024 EarShot artist. Listen to his EarShot piece, Frailejón,
Kite, aka Dr. Suzanne Kite, is an Oglála Lakȟóta performance artist, visual artist, and composer raised in Southern California, with a BFA from CalArts in music composition and an MFA from Bard College’s Milton Avery Graduate School. Known for her sound and video performance with her Machine Learning hair-braid interface, Kite’s groundbreaking scholarship and practice investigate contemporary Lakota ontologies through research-creation, computational media, and performance, often working in collaboration with family and community members. Kite is an ACO CoLABoratory Fellow and most recently participated in the CoLABoratory session with Tucson Symphony.
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