American Classical Orchestra Opens Season at Lincoln Center with Prodigy Adrian Romoff

The American Classical Orchestra opens its 2017-2018 season on Saturday, September 16, 2017 at 8:00 p.m., at Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center with a concert of Mendelssohn and Berwald, featuring 12-year old prodigy and Mensa competition winner Adrian Romoff in his Lincoln Center debut, led by Music Director and ACO founder Thomas Crawford. The program includes Mendelssohn's Piano Concerto in G minor with Romoff on fortepiano; Mendelssohn's Symphony No. 4, "Italian"; and Berwald's Symphony No. 3, "Singulière".

"Mendelssohn is often regarded as one of the greatest child prodigies of all time," said Crawford. "To have his piano concerto performed on the fortepiano by another prodigy, Adrian Romoff, will give audiences a truly distinctive experience. Hearing how the music may have sounded in Mendelssohn's time, played with energy from an extremely gifted young soloist is a rare opportunity."

New this season are concert previews with the full orchestra, led by Maestro Crawford, beginning a half hour prior to each concert. Audience members are invited to listen to musical excerpts from the concert and hear insights about the program. Concert previews are free to all ticket-holders.

Additional concerts in the ACO's 2017-18 season include the orchestra's first performance of Mozart's Mass in C Minor on November 7 with soprano Hélène Brunet and the ACO Chorus in Alice Tully Hall, and a performance of CPE Bach's Magnificat and the Christmas portion of Handel's Messiah on December 4 with the ACO chorus and soloists at St. Ignatius of Antioch Church. Back in Alice Tully Hall, violinist Stephanie Chase will join the ACO in five Baroque concertos on February 8, followed by the March 24 return of celebrated contralto Avery Amereau in a program of Brahms, Schubert, and Ries, joined by the ACO Men's Chorus.

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About Adrian Romoff

Twelve year old Adrian Romoff discovered his love of playing piano at age four, first studying with his mother, Olga Romoff. By age seven, he had played at Carnegie Hall three times and performed at Radio City Music Hall and the Beethoven House in Bonn, Germany. At age nine, Adrian was accepted into the prestigious Juilliard School of Music studying under Veda Kaplinsky and Helen Huang, and at age 11, Adrian was selected for the pre-college program at the New England Conservatory to study under Wha Kyung Byun, prizewinner of the 2015 Tchaikovsky Competition.

Adrian has appeared on national TV programs such as America's Got Talent, the Ellen and Queen Latifah shows, and has appeared in the motion picture Anchorman 2 with Will Ferrell. In May 2015, Adrian was invited to perform as a child star at the world famous Apollo Theater as well as invited for a special guest appearance on the German TV show, Superkids. Adrian has also performed with country-singing star Zac Brown and his band in front of 39,000 people at Fenway Park in Boston. In the summer of 2016, Adrian won the Mensa competition "Child Genius" on the Lifetime Network. In early 2017, Adrian won third prize in the 3rd Annual 92Y Concerto Competition and performed two concerts with the Laredo Philharmonic under the baton of Brandon Townsend.

In addition to his musical endeavors, Adrian has advanced academic accomplishments. Having finished high school at age eleven with a 4.0 GPA in May 2016, Adrian is currently a first year college student at Simons Rock of Bard College, the youngest student ever in its history, where he studies science and mathematics. Adrian is learning French and is fluent in both English and Russian.

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, Mr. 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.

The ACO has numerous recordings, including the complete wind concerti by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart featuring ACO's principal players as soloists, Mozart's Symphony No. 14, K.144, and Mozart's three Piano Concerti, K.107, and can be heard with renowned artists such as pianist Malcolm Bilson and horn virtuoso R.J. Kelley. In 2010, the ACO released a recording of Baroque oboe concerti with oboist Marc Schachman on the Centaur label.

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.

Season subscriptions are currently on-sale until September 13th by visiting www.aconyc.org or by calling 212-362-2727. Beginning on August 1, single tickets, priced at $35 to $95, can be purchased at www.lincolncenter.org, by calling Center Charge (212-721-6500) or by visiting the Alice Tully Hall Box Office. $15 student tickets are available at the Alice Tully Hall Box Office with valid student ID. Please visit www.aconyc.org for more information.