American Composers Orchestra Announces 49th Season in 2025-2026
“In an ideal musical world, there would be no need for an orchestra dedicated to performing new and recent works by American composers. That mission would be crucial to every American orchestra. But we don’t live in an ideal musical world.” – The New York Times
New York, NY (August 21, 2025) – Hailed as an “essential organization” (The New York Times) with “an expansive vision of orchestral composition” (Represent Classical), the American Composers Orchestra (ACO) announces its 2025-2026 highlights, marking its 49th year. This upcoming season brings ACO’s annual series presented by Carnegie Hall, including The New Virtuoso: For Art's Sake and Hello, America: Letters to Us, from Us; presentations of (Re)Loading the Canon and international EarShot Readings with orchestras across North America; regional orchestral premieres of Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation Orchestral Commission works; and the continuation of partnerships with The Juilliard School, Curtis Institute, and Sphinx Organization.
Carnegie Hall continues its annual presentation of the American Composers Orchestra in two featured performances in the 2025-2026 season. First, The New Virtuoso: For Art's Sake, led by Mélisse Brunet on Wednesday October 29, 2025 at 7:30 PM at Carnegie Hall’s Zankel Hall, invites five visionary composers to explore the vast possibilities they represent via wide-ranging sources such as electronically collected dream data, sonically reactive moving sculptures, graphic music scoring, art history, gestural conduction, and the creation of new, culturally informed instruments. All ACO co-commissions, works in this program include the New York premiere of Raven Chacon’s Inscription (co-commissioned by the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and the Tucson Symphony Orchestra), developed via the EarShot CoLABoratory program; the world premiere of Tamar Muskal’s Square Off for voice and mirror with soprano Lucy Fitz Gibbon and Daniel Rozin of Responsive Sculptures; the world premiere of Elijah Daniel Smith’s The Fall of Ideals; the world premiere of Mazz Swift’s Memory FIVE: Freedom Initiate, developed via EarShot CoLABoratory; and the world premiere of Aaron Israel Levin’s Multiverse verse chorus bridge verse chorus chorus.
On Thursday, October 16, 2025, American Composers Orchestra hosts Searchlight: 2025 Gala & Creative Catalyst Awards at 48 Wall Street in New York City. This annual gala honors two luminary couples, Ray and Vivian Chew and Elizabeth and Justus Schlichting who exemplify ACO’s core values of artistry, creativity, community, and equity. Proceeds benefit ACO EarShot composer advancement programs, orchestral performances, and educational initiatives. Trevor New, Dr. Edward W. Hardy, Danny Rozin, Gabriel Jenks, Curtis Stewart, Mali Irene, and GRAMMY® nominated singer-songwriter Valerie Simpson will perform. This genre-bending experience, rooted in Prohibition Era rebellion and Gatsby-esque opulence, is a gathering of artists and their champions in a celebration of artistic disruption.
American Composer Orchestra’s signature EarShot Readings, a collaboration with American Composers Forum, the League of American Orchestras, and New Music USA, continue internationally in the 2025-2026 season. A national composer development program that serves as the nation’s first systemic program for building relationships between composers and orchestras nationwide, promoting diverse talent and cultivating the careers of composers, EarShot Readings is a professional development process for composers with finished orchestral scores that culminates in multi-day in-person workshops with a professional orchestra.
After highly successful collaborations in recent seasons, EarShot Readings returns to Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music for a newly expanded two-part model concluding in Fall 2025. This new iteration began with spring workshops that brought eight composers into early creative dialogue with conductor Jeffery Meyer, IU orchestras and faculty, ACO staff, and mentors. Following these sessions and continued mentorship, four composers were selected to expand their sketches into full orchestral works for the fall readings. The model deepens engagement across the compositional process, broadens access, and fosters greater artistic refinement and impact in the final orchestral scores.
EarShot Readings: Jacobs School of Music will take place from September 29 to October 1, 2025, led by conductor Jeffery Meyer and featuring works by Corey Chang, Laura Pacheco, and Emre Sener, with mentor composers Curtis Stewart, Melinda Wagner, David Dzubay, and Gabriel Jenks. Additional EarShot Readings in the upcoming season include the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra from October 7 to 9, 2025, featuring works by Marisol Gentile, Jens Ibsen, Benjamin Krause, and Matthew Lam, with mentor composer James Lee III; Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra from November 17 to 18, 2025 with mentor composers Ana Sokolović, Kelly-Marie Murphy, and Ian Cusson; and Lawrence University Conservatory of Music from January 26 to 29, 2026, featuring works by Alicia Castillo, Lila Meretzky, Matthew Mason, and Logan Rutledge, with mentor composers Marcos Balter and Asha Srinivasan. Additional partnerships will be announced later in the season as more information becomes available. American Composers Orchestra will also award a $15,000 commission to one Readings participant. ACO is also running national recruitment efforts, including New Jersey Symphony (Cone Composition Institute), NY Youth Symphony (First Music), and Orchestra of St. Luke's (DeGaetano Composition Institute) in partnership with EarShot and advancing alums of these programs into subsequent opportunities available to EarShot alums.
As a vital conduit for new voices in orchestral music, EarShot presents three major programs: Readings with orchestras around the country to mentor and promote new composing talent, CoLABoratory Fellowships, advancing work by composers whose work is experimental or rooted in underrepresented traditions, and Commissions, providing opportunities for last year’s featured EarShot composers to compose new works for major orchestras.
EarShot CoLABoratory Residencies, for composers with an idea but no written score, advance the work of artists whose work is experimental or culturally underdeveloped in the orchestral repertoire. Composers Shelley Washington, Joseph C. Phillips Jr., Brittany J. Green, Mazz Swift will have performances at Carnegie Hall with ACO, and Andreia Pinto-Correia, Malachi Brown, Jordyn Davis, Mali Irene, Horacio Fernández, and Kian Ravaei will also complete residencies with ACO and orchestral partners. CoLABoratory Workshops in the 2025-2026 season include American Composers Orchestra at The DiMenna Center for Classical Music on August 26, 2025, and October 30, 2025, Boulevard Carroll on March 12 2026, and The DiMenna Center for Classical Music on June 11, 2026.
This season, ACO announces a multi-year partnership with Platoon, through which eleven live recordings captured in public performances and readings from Fall 2021 through Spring 2024 will be commercially released on all major digital platforms. The first of these is the world premiere recording of Huang Ruo's An American Soldier, released on May 23, 2025 to critical acclaim. Additional projects will be released over the course of the coming season, bringing orchestral works by composers developed and performed by ACO to an international audience.
ACO partners with The Juilliard School (NYC), Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music (Chicago), University of Rochester’s Eastman School of Music (Rochester, NY), Curtis Institute of Music (Philadelphia), the Sphinx Organization (Detroit), and Concert Artists Guild (NYC) on (Re)loading the Canon, a commissioning consortium to develop a series of eight-minute violin, viola, cello, and bass concertos by Black and Latino composers. Four concertos were commissioned during the 2024-2025 season, with workshops, performances, and recording sessions in Fall 2025, and for consideration to be performed at the 2027 Sphinx Competition. From October 3 to 4, 2025, the Eastman School of Music will host a workshop and recording session of Michael Frazier’s Viola Concerto los quetzales with violist Jordan Bak, with a public performance at Eastman on October 22, 2025 at 7:30 PM. On October 9, 2025, The Juilliard School will host a workshop and recording session of Curtis Stewart’s Bass Concerto Bass Concertante with bassist Kebra-Seyoun Charles. From November 19 to 21, 2025, Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music will host a workshop and recording session of Shawn Okpebholo’s Cello Concerto
Next, ACO returns to Carnegie Hall on Wednesday March 11, 2026 at 7:30 PM for Hello, America: Letters to Us, from Us, as part of the Hall’s United in Sound: America at 250 festival. The program, which commemorates the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, focuses on artists’ musical open letters to America, which reflect narratives around the summer homes of turn-of-the-century Black folk; dreams; unspoken emotions; rituals of celebration; and the connection between the historic and current patriotism of Black American women. Led by Carolyn Kuan, this program features ACO commissions developed through EarShot CoLABoratory, including the world premiere of Joseph C. Phillips Jr.’sWe Hold These Truths to Be Self-Evident (co-commissioned by Carnegie Hall); the world premiere of Brittany J. Green’s Letters to America, featuring soprano Karen Slack; the world premiere of Kite’s Wičhínčala Šakówin; the world premiere of Shelley Washington’s Haymaker, featuring cellist Amanda Gookin; and the New York premiere of Jessie Montgomery’s arrangement of Procession, featuring percussionist Cynthia Yeh.
ACO announces its second cohort of The New York Community Trust Van Lier Fellows this season. Michael Dudley, Jr., Arjan Singh Dogra, and Horacio Fernández have been selected for the second cohort of one-year fellowships. Artists selected for the first cohort of Fellows include composers Kebra-Seyoun Charles, Malachi Brown, and Jordyn Davis. Artists receive a commission fee, mentorship, workshops, recordings, and professional premiere, via American Composers Orchestra’s EarShot Readings or CoLABoratory Residencies. The New York Community Trust’s Edward and Sally Van Lier Fellowship Program provides support for talented young professionals (aged 18 to 30) from historically underrepresented populations who are dedicated to a career in the arts. Grants help arts groups provide young professional artists living and working in New York City with paid opportunities to create and present new work, as well as training, mentorship, and other support. Fellowships are intended to help young working artists achieve significant professional credit that can lead to future opportunities and advance their careers.
American Composers Orchestra continues its partnership with the League of American Orchestras on the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation Orchestral Commissions Program. Performances from two 30-orchestra consortia established over the last two years continue into next season with supporting commissions by six women and nonbinary EarShot alumni. The third national consortium was announced in 2025, featuring three new commissions by composers Stacy Garrop, Angel Lam, and Leanna Primiani, for full-length, 25- to 30-minute concert works. World premieres and repeat performances of the new works by a consortium of nine orchestras will occur during the 2025-26 and 2026-27 seasons. Additionally, a newly-established repeat performances initiative will support additional presentations of previously commissioned works by all 16 composers commissioned through the program from 2014-2019. The repeat performances will occur throughout the 2025-26 and 2026-27 among 16 participating orchestras. In the 2025-2026 season, composers will have their works performed by twenty-four orchestras across the United States, including: Grant Park Orchestra, Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra, Lima Symphony Orchestra, Symphony of the Rockies, Knoxville Symphony Orchestra, Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, Vermont Symphony Orchestra, Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra Nova Northwest, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Lexington Philharmonic, Orchestra of the Southern Finger Lakes, Princeton Symphony Orchestra, Quad City Symphony Orchestra, Lincoln’s Symphony Orchestra, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, Canton Symphony Orchestra, Richmond Symphony Orchestra, North Corner Chamber Orchestra, Monterey Symphony, Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra, Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, Asheville Symphony, and Oregon Symphony.
About American Composers Orchestra
In 1977, a collective of fearless New York City musicians came together to form the American Composers Orchestra (ACO), an ensemble dedicated to the creation, celebration, performance, and promotion of orchestral music by American composers. With nearly 50 years committed to artistry, creativity, community, and equity, ACO has blossomed into a national institution that not only cultivates and develops the careers of living composers but also provides composers a direct pipeline to partnerships with many of America’s major symphony orchestras.
In addition to its annual season, presented by Carnegie Hall since 1987, the ACO serves as a New York City hub where the most forward-thinking experimental American musicians come together to hone and realize new art by developing talent, established composers, and underrepresented voices, increasing the regional, national, and international awareness of the infinite variety of American orchestral music.
ACO produces national educational programs for all ages, and composer advancement programs to foster a community of creators, audience, performers, collaborators, and funders – all dedicated to American composition.
To date, ACO has performed music by 800 American composers, including over 350 world premieres and newly commissioned works. Recent and notable commissioned composers include John Luther Adams, Andy Akiho, Clarice Assad, Carlos Bandera, Courtney Bryan, Valerie Coleman, Dai Wei, Du Yun, inti figgis-vizueta, Marcus Gilmore, Vijay Iyer, Yvette Janine Jackson, Joan La Barbara, Steve Lehman, Tania León, Paula Matthusen, Trevor New, Mendi + Keith Obadike, Ellen Reid, Daniel Bernard Roumain, Carlos Simon, Henry Threadgill, and many more.
Now encompassing all of ACO’s composer advancement initiatives, EarShot is the first ongoing, systematic program for developing relationships between composers and orchestras on the national level. Through orchestral readings, CoLABoratory fellowships, consortium commissions, publishing, and professional development, EarShot ensures a vibrant musical future by investing in creativity today. Serving over 350 composers since inception, ACO Readings in NYC began in 1991, and since 2008, national Readings have been offered in partnership with orchestras across the country in collaboration with American Composers Forum, the League of American Orchestras, and New Music USA. EarShot Readings composers have gone on to win every major composition award, including the Pulitzer, GRAMMY®, Grawemeyer, American Academy of Arts and Letters, and Rome Prizes.
ACO has received numerous awards for its work, including those from the American Academy of Arts and Letters and from BMI Foundation, Inc., recognizing the orchestra’s outstanding contribution to American music. ASCAP has awarded ACO its annual prize for adventurous programming 35 times, singling out ACO as “the orchestra that has done the most for new American music in the United States.” ACO received the inaugural MetLife Award for Excellence in Audience Engagement, and a proclamation from the New York City Council. Learn more at www.americancomposers.org.
Photo Credit: Alfred Kan
The commissions of Haymaker by Shelley Washington and Unsurrendable Glisten of the Ices, Part II by Laura Ortman are made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.
New Works by Joseph C. Phillips, Jr., Horacio Fernández, and Mazz Swift are made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.
Owáǧo Uŋkíhaŋblapi (We Dream a Score) by Suzanne Kite is commissioned by the Thomas family in honor of Dave Thomas's 70th birthday and was developed through the American Composers Orchestra's EarShot CoLABoratory program. The work and its premiere are further supported by the National Endowment for the Arts, New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor, and the New York State Legislature.
The commission of new works by Elijah Daniel Smith, Patricia Leonard, Curtis Stewart, Jonathan Bailey Holland, and Shawn Okpebholo is made possible with the support of Elizabeth and Justus Schlichting.
Works commissioned by American Composers Orchestra via EarShot: Advancing Equity through Publishing & Repertoire Development are made possible through support from the Sphinx Organization, and administered by EarShot Publishing, exclusive publisher, in partnership with Boosey & Hawkes, sole licensing agent.
The New York Community Trust Van Lier Fellowships for Michael Dudley, Jr., Arjan Singh Dogra, and Horacio Fernández are made possible by The New York Community Trust’s Musical Arts Fund, Clara Lewisohn Rossin Trust, and Edward and Sally Van Lier Fund.
American Composers Orchestra is grateful to the many organizations that make its programs possible including Arthur F. & Alice E. Adams Charitable Fund, Altman Foundation, Amphion Foundation, Benevity, Aaron Copland Fund for Music, BMI Foundation, BMI, Inc., Charity Navigator's Giving Basket, Cheswatyr Foundation, Edward T. Cone Foundation, Communities Foundation of Texas, The Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation, Alice M. Ditson Fund of Columbia University, Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, Ford Foundation’s Good Neighbor Committee, Give Lively, Francis B. Goelet Charitable Trust, Fromm Music Foundation, Steven R. Gerber Trust, G. Schirmer/Wise Music Foundation, The Hearst Foundation, Howard Gilman Foundation, Jephson Educational Trusts, Jerome Foundation, MacMillan Family Foundation, Mellon Foundation, New Music USA’s Organization Fund, The New York Community Trust (Musical Arts Fund, Clara Lewisohn Rossin Trust, and Edward and Sally Van Lier Fund), Pacific Harmony Foundation, Paypal Giving Fund, Rexford Fund, Sphinx Venture Fund, TD Charitable Foundation, Turrell Fund, UKOGF Foundation, Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation.
Corporate gifts to match employee contributions are made by Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank, Triton Container International Incorporated of North America, and Neiman Marcus.
Public funds are provided by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, and the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature, Office of Brooklyn Borough President Reynoso, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
