American Composers Orchestra

The American Composers Orchestra dedicates itself to the performance and creation of music by American composers, and it may be the only ensemble in the world to do so. The group has offered more than 100 world premieres, many of them commissioned by the group. The American Composers Orchestra has a substantial recording catalog that is devoted to American music exclusively, but within that category, offers a wide range of music, from Duke Ellington to Milton Babbitt. In 2025, the orchestra released the album Huang Ruo: An American Soldier. The American Composers Orchestra, sometimes known as ACO, was formed in 1975 by composer Francis Thorne and conductor Dennis Russell Davies, with composer Nicolas Roussakis and conductor Paul Lustig Dunkel soon becoming involved. The initial motivation was the founders' perception that American orchestras often failed to perform music by American composers. The group gave its premiere performance on February 7, 1977, at New York's Alice Tully Hall. Dennis Russell Davies held the title of founding music director, serving from 1977 to 2002 and remaining active with the orchestra as conductor laureate. Steven Sloane was music director from 2002 to 2006, and he was succeeded by George Manahan, who held the position until 2021 and stayed on as music director emeritus. As of the mid-2020s, the group had no permanent music director, but Curtis Stewart served as artistic director. An early recording by the American Composers Orchestra was Babbitt: Concerto for piano and orchestra, The Head of the Bed, released by New World Records in 1987. The American Composers Orchestra remains based in New York and performs frequently at leading venues, including Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall, the DiMenna Center for Classical Music, and the Miller Theatre at Columbia University. The group's list of special guests includes such stars as Leonard Bernstein, Itzhak Perlman, André Watts, and Emanuel Ax. The orchestra is associated with various sub-projects, including the Underwood New Music Readings, which allow young composers to hear their works, and Sonidos de las Américas, which featured music by Latin American composers. The American Composers Orchestra has performed works by more than 400 American composers, with many of those being commissions of new music. The group has favored younger composers, and such figures as Ellen Taaffe Zwilich and Joseph Schwantner received their first commissions from the group. The American Composers Orchestra has recorded more than 30 albums, appearing on a variety of labels, including Argo, ECM, Nonesuch, and MusicMasters. The group moved to Platoon for the 2025 release Huang Ruo: An American Soldier. ~ James Manheim, Rovi