American Classical Orchestra to Perform Works by Jean Phillip Rameau

On Thursday, February 9, 2017 at 8:00PM at the St. Ignatius of Antioch Church, 552 West End Ave. at 87th St, American Classical Orchestra will present an evening of the music by Jean Phillip Rameau.

Featured will be the American Classical Orchestra Chorus in Rameau's masterpiece Les Indes Galantes. Soloists will include Megan Chartrand, Madeline Healey, Marcy Richardson, Katherine Wessinger, Clifton Massey, Brian Giebler, Steven Eddy, Timothy McDevitt and Andrew Padgett.

Rameau was a renowned composer and music theorist for almost thirty years before he wrote his first large-scale operas and ballets. His stature as France's greatest baroque composer is secured in works such as this, with its exotic harmonies and foreign references to Native Americans. This concert will be conducted by Thomas Crawford.

PRE - CONCERT LECTURE
Maestro Thomas Crawford will present a Pre-Concert Lecture at 7:00PM on February 9.

QUOTE FROM MUSIC DIRECTOR THOMAS CRAWFORD: "Rameau's music is quintessentially and deliciously 'French'. The querky humor, the odd turns of phrase, the piquant harmonies, the savoir faire are ever present in this music. Rameau's place in history as the first great composer from France is confirmed in the luxurious Les Indes Galantes ballet/opera. The ACO performance features most of the finest music from this unique score, including many instrumental dances and the beautiful arias and choruses that are the Rameau hallmark." says Thomas Crawford.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS:

THOMAS CRAWFORD, Conductor

Artistic Director and Founder of the American Classical Orchestra, Thomas C. Crawford is active in numerous musical disciplines as conductor, composer, and organist. As a conductor, Mr. Crawford is a champion of both historically accurate performance styles of the Baroque and Classical repertoire and of new American music. Mr. Crawford has attracted many outstanding artists, including Itzhak Perlman, Yo-Yo Ma, André Watts, Dawn Upshaw, Richard Goode, Victor Borge, Monica Huggett and Vladimir Feltsman. He is responsible for the American Classical Orchestra's numerous international recordings with such great artists as Malcolm Bilson and Keith Jarrett. He is also a composer in many idioms and has been especially prolific in vocal music. Mr. Crawford has been recognized for his teaching of children and adults through school programs and lectures.

AMERICAN CLASSICAL ORCHESTRA CHORUS

American Classical Orchestra Chorus is a renowned vocal group that joins American Classical Orchestra for larger productions and works. Comprised of professional vocalists from the New York Metro area, the ACO Chorus has quickly become of the pre-eminent period vocal groups in the City. Under the direction of Music Director, Thomas Crawford, the chorus has recently performed Handel's 'Samson' and 'Jubilate' at Alice Tully Hall receiving glowing reviews in the New York Times and New York Classical Review. "The best thing about the Jubilate is that it brought the ACO Chorus to the stage - and they are as fine as the Orchestra." New York Classical Review.

AMERICAN CLASSICAL ORCHESTRA

American Classical Orchestra, New York's Leading Period Instrument Orchestra, enriches the cultural landscape of the City through inspired performances of 17th, 18th, and 19th century music on the instruments for which it was composed. Sitting in a church, salon or great concert hall, ACO audiences experience music history coming to life, and feel closer to the sound world of composers they love - of the Classical, Baroque and early Romantic periods.

Founded by Artistic Director Thomas Crawford in 1984 as the Old Fairfield Academy in Fairfield, Connecticut, the American Classical Orchestra has made its permanent home in New York City. Since moving to New York in 2005, the ACO has established itself as a leading orchestra in Manhattan, with performances at Alice Tully Hall, St. Ignatius of Antioch Church, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, David Geffen Hall, the New York Society for Ethical Culture, and more.

Some highlights of the orchestra's past thirty-one years include the Lincoln Center Great Performers Series, a sold-out 25th Anniversary performance of Beethoven's 9th Symphony at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, staged performances of Handel's opera Alceste and Haydn's opera L'Isola disabitata at Alice Tully Hall, and internationally acclaimed commercial recordings. The American Classical Orchestra programs pieces ranging from audience favorites, such as Mozart's Symphony No. 40 and Bach's B Minor Mass, to rarely heard gems such as George Philipp Teleman's Der Tag des Gerichts and British composer Cipriani Potter's Symphony No. 10.

During the American Classical Orchestra's 2016-2017 season, the Lincoln Center Series will include performances at Alice Tully Hall, and a premiere performance at David Geffen Hall of Beethoven's 9th Symphony. The Orchestra's new organization of young professionals, the American Classical Orchestra's Cadenza Circle, has scheduled monthly social programs and live performances for New Yorkers under 45 who enjoy classical music.

MISSION STATEMENT

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 original instruments and using historic performance technique, we attempt to recreate the sounds an audience would have experienced when the music was written and first performed. We 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. Historical instruments, with their softer and more transparent, yet sometimes edgier 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.

IF YOU GO:

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2017

7:00 PM PRE-CONCERT LECTURE

8:00 PM CONCERT

Thomas Crawford, conductor

St. Ignatius of Antioch Church, 552 West End Ave. at 87th St.

Rameau - Les Indes Galantes - Ensembles and Choruses

American Classical Orchestra and Chorus

Tickets can be purchased on www.aconyc.org for $50 and $25.