Maestro Thomas News

The closing concert of the season on Thursday, May 11, at 8:00PM at Alice Tully Hall will be featuring two of Rossini's famous overtures, The Barber of Seville and William Tell; Clementi's Symphony No. 4; Paganini's 'La Campanella' from Concerto No. 2and Nardini's Violin Concerto in e minor with violinist Krista Bennion Feeney. Italian music of the Classical Era continued a long tradition of virtuosity in stringed instruments. By the beginning of the 19th century, Italian violins, violinist-composers and the violin repertoire had advanced to levels of flamboyance unrivaled anywhere else in Europe. Muzio Clementi's rarely heard symphony features virtuoso string passages unlike those of his contemporaries. Rossini's ebullient overtures complement the sentimental NardiniViolin Concerto in e minor and the fiery Paganini La Campanella.  This concert will be conducted by Thomas Crawford.

From Beethoven and Brahms to Mahler, Mendelssohn, and Mozart, the month of April at the Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO) brings a myriad of masterworks.

On Tuesday, April 11 at 8:00PM at David Geffen Hall, Lincoln Center, the American Classical Orchestra will perform Beethoven's Symphony No. 9, the composer's towering final achievement. Unique among the seasons' 9th performances, this concert will be performed on period instruments, using the tempos and performance techniques of its premiere nearly 200 years ago. The thrilling textures and nuanced blend of period instruments with the voices of the highly acclaimed ACO Chorus will transport listeners back to the sound world of the early 19th century, while bringing them closer to the composer's intentions and original markings. The result is a deeper, more fulfilling musical experience of this great work. To provide greater understanding, Maestro Thomas Crawford will deliver an introduction, with orchestra and chorus onstage to perform excerpts, before conducting the 70-minute Symphony. This combination of pre-symphony talk and period instrument performance offers rare and meaningful immersion into this much-loved symphony. Soloists are Sherezade Panthaki, Michael Sumuel, Helen Karloski and Kang Wang.

On Tuesday, April 11 at 8:00PM at David Geffen Hall, Lincoln Center, the American Classical Orchestra will perform Beethoven's Symphony No. 9, the composer's towering final achievement. Unique among the seasons' 9th performances, this concert will be performed on period instruments, using the tempos and performance techniques of its premiere nearly 200 years ago. The thrilling textures and nuanced blend of period instruments with the voices of the highly acclaimed ACO Chorus will transport listeners back to the sound world of the early 19th century, while bringing them closer to the composer's intentions and original markings.  The result is a deeper, more fulfilling musical experience of this great work. To provide greater understanding, Maestro Thomas Crawford will deliver an introduction, with orchestra and chorus onstage to perform excerpts, before conducting the 70-minute Symphony. This combination of pre-symphony talk and period instrument performance offers rare and meaningful immersion into this much-loved symphony. Soloists are Sherezade Panthaki, Michael Sumuel, Helen Karloski and Kang Wang.

On Today, 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.

American Classical Orchestra on Today, January 17, 2017 at 8:00PM at Alice Tully Hall will present a program of works written by some of the greatest composers of the late 18th century during their youth: Mozart, Haydn, and Johann Baptist Vanhal.

American Classical Orchestra on Today, January 17, 2017 at 8:00PM at Alice Tully Hall will present a program of works written by some of the greatest composers of the late 18th century during their youth: Mozart, Haydn, and Johann Baptist Vanhal. Works performed will be Haydn Symphony No. 31 in D Major, 'Hornsignal'; Mozart Symphony No. 1 in E Flat Major, K 16, Mozart Piano Concerto No. 4, K. 41 in G Major and  Mozart Piano Concerto K. 107, No. 2 in G Major with pianist Audrey Axinn and Vanhal Symphony in d minor.

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.

American Classical Orchestra on Tuesday, January 17, 2017 at 8:00PM at Alice Tully Hall will present a program of works written by some of the greatest composers of the late 18th century during their youth: Mozart, Haydn, and Johann Baptist Vanhal.

American Classical Orchestra on Tuesday, January 17, 2017 at 8:00PM at Alice Tully Hall will present a program of works written by some of the greatest composers of the late 18th century during their youth: Mozart, Haydn, and Johann Baptist Vanhal. Works performed will be Haydn Symphony No. 31 in D Major, 'Hornsignal'; Mozart Symphony No. 1 in E Flat Major, K 16, Mozart Piano Concerto No. 4, K. 41 in G Major and  Mozart Piano Concerto K. 107, No. 2 in G Major with pianist Audrey Axinn and Vanhal Symphony in d minor.

On Today, October 25 at 8:00PM at Alice Tully Hall, The American Classical Orchestra, comprised of some of the world's leading period violinists, will present Vivaldi's Four Seasons. Violinists Judson Griffin, Lisa Rautenberg, Cynthia Roberts and Jorg-Michael Schwarz will perform on 1610 and 1615 Giovanni Maginni and 1668 and 1671 Jacob Stainer masterpiece violins. Also featured on the program are Handel's Concerto Grosso Opus 3, No. 2, Geminiani's "La Follia' Concerto and Albicastro's Concerto a Quattro Opus 7 excerpts. This concert will be conducted by Thomas Crawford.  Maestro Thomas Crawford will present a Pre-Concert Lecture at 7:00PM on October 25.

On Tuesday, October 25 at 8:00PM at Alice Tully Hall, The American Classical Orchestra, comprised of some of the world's leading period violinists, will present Vivaldi's Four Seasons. Violinists Judson Griffin, Lisa Rautenberg, Cynthia Roberts and Jorg-Michael Schwarz will perform on 1610 and 1615 Giovanni Maginni and 1668 and 1671 Jacob Stainer masterpiece violins.

On Tuesday, October 25 at 8:00PM at Alice Tully Hall, The American Classical Orchestra, comprised of some of the world's leading period violinists, will present Vivaldi's Four Seasons. Violinists Judson Griffin, Lisa Rautenberg, Cynthia Roberts and Jorg-Michael Schwarz will perform on 1610 and 1615 Giovanni Maginni and 1668 and 1671 Jacob Stainer masterpiece violins. Also featured on the program are Handel's Concerto Grosso Opus 3, No. 2, Geminiani's "La Follia' Concerto and Albicastro's Concerto a Quattro Opus 7 excerpts. This concert will be conducted by Thomas Crawford.  Maestro Thomas Crawford will present a Pre-Concert Lecture at 7:00PM on October 25.

On Today, September 22, 2016 at 8:00PM at Alice Tully Hall, the American Classical Orchestra, a 50-piece period instrument orchestra, presents its opening night concert of its 32nd Season. The program will include Mendelssohn's 'Scottish' Symphony, Berlioz's Les nuits d'ete, and Cipriani Potter's Symphony No. 10. In Mendelssohn's stormy Scottish Symphony, period instruments enliven the thrilling orchestration and memorable tunes for which the composer is so beloved. In Berlioz's evocative Les nuits d'ete, the ACO proudly introduces the extraordinary young American mezzo-soprano Avery Amereau. A rarely heard Symphony No. 10 by British composer Cipriani Potter completes a concert that takes the audience back into the luxurious sonorities of the Romantic Era.

On Thursday, September 22, 2016 at 8:00PM at Alice Tully Hall, the American Classical Orchestra, a 50-piece period instrument orchestra devoted to preserving and performing the repertoire of 17th, 18th and 19th century composers, presents its opening night concert of its 32nd Season. The program, which will be conducted by Thomas Crawford, will include Mendelssohn's Symphony No. 3  'Scottish', Berlioz's Les nuits d'ete with mezzo-soprano Avery Amereau, and Cipriani Potter's Symphony No. 10.

The Salk Institute will celebrate 21 years of Symphony at Salk, its signature concert under the stars, with Broadway luminary Kelli O'Hara and the incomparable San Diego Symphony led by guest conductor Maestro Thomas Wilkins on Saturday, August 20.

On Thursday, September 22, 2016 at 8:00PM at Alice Tully Hall, the American Classical Orchestra, a 50-piece period instrument orchestra, presents its opening night concert of its 32nd Season. The program will include Mendelssohn's 'Scottish' Symphony, Berlioz's Les nuits d'ete, and Cipriani Potter's Symphony No. 10. In Mendelssohn's stormy Scottish Symphony, period instruments enliven the thrilling orchestration and memorable tunes for which the composer is so beloved. In Berlioz's evocative Les nuits d'ete, the ACO proudly introduces the extraordinary young American mezzo-soprano Avery Amereau. A rarely heard Symphony No. 10 by British composer Cipriani Potter completes a concert that takes the audience back into the luxurious sonorities of the Romantic Era.

American Classical Orchestra presents J.S Bach's St. John Passion, conducted by Thomas Crawford, on Tuesday, November 3 at 8:00PM at Alice Tully Hall with renowned tenor Rufus Muller as the Evangelist, making a return engagement in Bach's beloved St. John Passion Members of the American Classical Orchestra Chorus will be featured in the solo arias. Bach's two surviving passions, the St. Matthew and the St. John, have become the bedrock of our western classical music canon. The passion offers compelling musical representations of the gospel story in graphic detail and timeless expanse. In the St. John, Bach's instrumental pallet is unique, employing now legendary solos for flute, 'hunting oboes', and Bach's most haunting solo for the viol da gamba.

When Nathan Laskar released his 2014 album, Bedstuyle, under the name Brooklyn Shanti, his intention was to bring disparate artists, genres and music fans together in order to show them their own similarities.  Taking this approach landed Laskar a TED talk, an invitation to present the album's breakout collaboration, "Something Beautiful" with Bollywood starlet, Evelyn Sharma to the press and public in Mumbai at the top of the year, and found him seated on multiple panels and in showcases during SXSW 2015.

On Thursday, March 12 at Alice Tully Hall, the American Classical Orchestra, conducted by Maestro Thomas Crawford, presented Schubert's Symphony No. 9 'Great', Mozart's Mass in C 'Coronation', featuring world-renowned soloists Sherezade Panthaki, soprano; Sarah Craft, alto; Marc Molomot, tenor and Michael Kelly, baritone with the American Classical Orchestra Chorus and Beethoven's Egmont Overture and 'Christ on the Mount of Olives' (excerpt). Maestro Thomas Crawford gave a Pre-Concert Lecture at 7:00PM.