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.
Our Work
Through ground-breaking performances and nationwide initiatives, ACO continually works to expand the definition of American orchestral music and ensure a vibrant and inclusive future.
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
Thea Musgrave
Thea Musgrave is a Scottish-American composer whose catalog encompasses opera, orchestral music, chamber music, choral works, ballet, and concertos. Her operas include Mary, Queen of Scots, Harriet, the Woman Called Moses, Simón Bolívar, and A Christmas Carol, while her instrumental works often assign soloists dramatic roles within the orchestra. ACO will honor Musgrave at its 2026 Gala and Creative Catalyst Awards on October 27, followed by Hello, America: We Gather Here at Carnegie Hall, featuring her Song of the Enchanter.
Philadelphia-based composer and pianist Alexander Timofeev writes music shaped by Eastern European and American influences, with a catalog that includes opera, concertos, and orchestral works. He made his debut as a composer-performer at 19 with his Concerto for Piano and Orchestra and later received ACO’s 2017 Audience Choice Award and Commission. On October 27, ACO will give the world premiere of his Fantasme No. 2 during Hello, America: We Gather Here at Carnegie Hall.
Nathan Schram is a composer, violist, and member of the two-time GRAMMY Award-winning Attacca Quartet, with collaborators including Björk, James Blake, Billie Eilish, Finneas, and Becca Stevens. His work also includes three solo albums and Musicambia, the organization he founded to provide music programs in prisons and jails across the United States. ACO will present Schram’s new work in a CoLABoratory workshop with composer Andreia Pinto-Correia on September 9, 2026, at the DiMenna Center for Classical Music.
