Dance Time

The American Classical Orchestra celebrates classical music performance on authentic instruments, specializing in repertoire from the 17th to 19th centuries. Founded by music director Thomas Crawford in 1985 as the Orchestra of the Old Fairfield Academy, the Orchestra works to render more faithfully music of the Baroque, Classical, and early Romantic eras. In 1999, the orchestra's name was changed to American Classical Orchestra. Interested in reviving and preserving the art of playing period instruments, the American Classical Orchestra also fosters the education of musicians and the public in authentic performance technique. Comprised of leading period instrumentalists in the New York metropolitan region, the Orchestra has achieved significant critical acclaim through its performances and its professional recordings in New York City and Connecticut. The ACO has recorded the complete Mozart wind concerti, using its principal players as soloists. These three compact discs, mark the first comprehensive survey of the Mozart wind concerti by an American period-instrument ensemble and conductor. The American Classical Orchestra has appeared in the Lincoln Center Great Performers Series. In December 2000 the Orchestra made its debut at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in a program specially designed for the exhibition "Art and the Empire City: New York, 1825-1861."