American Composer's Orchestra presents Connecting ACO Community

A new solo commissioning initiative in response to the COVID-19 crisis with online world premieres beginning Sunday, April 19, 2020 at 5pm EST on Zoom.

In response to the impacts of COVID-19 on composers and performers, American Composers Orchestra announces Connecting ACO Community, a new initiative to commission short works for solo instrument or voice. Each composer will receive $500 to write the work, and each performer will receive $500 to perform the work, with the rights to stream for six months. With these seven premieres, ACO aims to support artists who need financial assistance; to create new work that will live beyond this crisis; and to provide virtual, interactive performances to ACO’s supporters and the general public.

Premieres of the new works will take place each Sunday at 5pm EST, beginning Sunday, April 19, 2020 at 5pm EST with violinist Miranda Cuckson performing a new work by Ethan Iverson, hosted on Zoom. Ticketholders will receive a private link to join the performance, and all of the proceeds from the ticket sales will go solely to fund artists involved in this project. If the $5 entrance fee poses a barrier to participation, interested listeners will be asked to fill out an anonymous form at https://bit.ly/ACOCommunityComp or email Aiden Feltkamp at aiden@americancomposers.org to request a fee waiver.

The composer, performer, and a host (ACO President Ed Yim or ACO Artistic Director Derek Bermel, who is also donating his own performance to the project) will hold an online chat with attendees after the performance. The recorded session will be available within 24 hours after the performance on ACO’s website and social media platforms, as well as on MUSIC on the REBOUND: an online platform for participating in live events as well as a platform for streaming concerts.