American Classical Orchestra Performs CPE Bach And Handel's Messiah With ACO Chorus

On Monday, December 4, 2017 at 8:00 p.m., the American Classical Orchestra, "the nation's premier orchestra dedicated to period instrument performance (Vulture)," presents a holiday program featuring the acclaimed ACO Chorus in the Christmas portion of Handel's Messiah, performed in the sacred setting of St. Ignatius of Antioch Church. Soloists will include sopranos Katherine Wessinger and Nola Richardson; altos Kate Maroney and Clifton Massey; tenors Andrew Fuchs, Nils Neubert, and Gene Stenger; and basses Timothy McDevitt and Edmund Milly. For the first time ever, ACO also performs Carl Philip Emmanuel Bach's Magnificat.

This season, the American Classical Orchestra is launching an innovative Concert Preview program that will bring listeners closer to the music. Before conducting the program, Maestro Crawford will deliver an introduction, with the full orchestra and chorus onstage to perform excerpts from the evening's program. Crawford's engaging narratives, along with the live music, will give the audience greater insights into what they're about to hear, resulting in a more enriched musical experience.

Additional concerts in the ACO's 2017-18 season include five Baroque concertos with violinist Stephanie Chase at Alice Tully Hall on February 8; and a program of works by Brahms, Schubert, and Ries with contralto Avery Amereau and the ACO Men's Chorus on March 24.

Program Information
Monday, December 4, 2017 at 8:00 p.m.
St. Ignatius of Antioch Church | 87th St and West End Ave. | NYC
American Classical Orchestra and ACO Chorus
Katherine Wessinger and Nola Richardson, soprano
Kate Maroney and Clifton Massey, alto
Andrew Fuchs, Nils Neubert, and Gene Stenger, tenor
Timothy McDevitt and Edmund Milly, bass

CPE BACH Magnificat
HANDEL Messiah Christmas Portion
with ACO Chorus and Soloists

Ticket Information
Tickets for the December 4 concert can be purchased at http://aconyc.org/concert-event/cpe-bach-handel/ or by calling ACO at 212.362.2727. Please visit www.aconyc.org for more information.

About the American Classical Orchestra Chorus
The American Classical Orchestra Chorus is a professional vocal group that joins American Classical Orchestra in performances of 17th through 19th century choral works. Under Artistic Director Thomas Crawford, the ACO Chorus has garnered acclaim among premier early music vocal ensembles in New York City. The Chorus has recently performed Handel's Samson, Alceste, and Jubilate; Michael Haydn's Requiem; Bach's B-minor Mass and St. John's Passion; and has received glowing reviews in The New York Times and New York Classical Review, which once claimed, "The best thing about the Jubilate is that it brought the ACO Chorus to the stage-and they are as fine as the Orchestra."

About Thomas Crawford
Artistic Director and Founder of the American Classical Orchestra, Thomas Crawford is a champion of historically accurate performance styles in Baroque, Classical and Early Romantic music. Throughout his career, he has collaborated with renowned soloists including Itzhak Perlman, Yo-Yo Ma, André Watts, Dawn Upshaw, Richard Goode, and Vladimir Feltsman; and has produced recordings with great American pianists Malcolm Bilson and Keith Jarrett.

A passionate activist determined to bring the beauty of period music to a wider audience, Crawford has been recognized for the ACO's dynamic music outreach to New York City schoolchildren. He holds a Bachelor of Music in composition and organ performance from Eastman School of Music, where he studied choral and orchestral conducting under Samuel Adler. After graduation, he went on to train with Hugo Fiorato, conductor of the New York City Ballet Orchestra, and to earn a Master of Arts in composition from Columbia University.

About the American Classical Orchestra
Described as "simply splendid" by The New York Times, the American Classical Orchestra (ACO) is a leader in the field of historically accurate performance. A period instrument ensemble devoted to preserving and performing the repertoire of 17th, 18th, and 19th century composers, ACO recreates the sound world of the masters using priceless historic instruments, as well as era-specific performance techniques. Comprised of the world's top period instrumentalists, the ACO provides audiences with the opportunity to experience classical music in the specific way it was intended to be heard.

Highlights of the ACO's history include a concert at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in collaboration with the Museum's exhibition Art and the Empire City: New York, 1825 - 1861, a debut concert on the Lincoln Center Great Performers Series, a sold-out 25th Anniversary performance of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, and a staged performance of Handel's opera Alceste as part of the ACO's Handelfest 2014.

Founded by Artistic Director Thomas Crawford in 1984 as The Orchestra of the Old Fairfield Academy in Fairfield, Connecticut, the American Classical Orchestra moved to New York City in 2005, emerging as the City's premier period instrument ensemble.

The ACO is dedicated to the appreciation and understanding of classical music through educational programs, and spreading historically-informed performance practices to new generations. In order to provide audiences with first-hand insight into the music, Music Director Thomas Crawford gives informative concert previews with live musical examples from the orchestra prior to each concert. Through its immersive in-school program, Classical Music for Kids, the orchestra has inspired hundreds of thousands of young students and musicians. For this work, the ACO was awarded a National Endowment for the Arts grant and Early Music America prize. For more information, visit www.aconyc.org.