Collection: THOMAS CRAWFORD and THE AMERICAN CLASSICAL ORCHESTRA: THE MUSICAL HERITAGE SOCIETY RECORDINGS

Founded in 1984 as the Orchestra of the Old Fairfield Academy, the orchestra was renamed American Classical Orchestra in 2005, when Mr. Crawford established its permanent home in New York City. 

The ACO is devoted to preserving and performing the repertoire of 17th, 18th and 19th century composers.  By playing the music on original instruments and using historic performance technique, we attempt to recreate the sounds an audience would have experienced when the music was written and first performed.  We pass along skills and appreciation for this practice to future generations through concert performances and educational programs.

Because period instruments were made of different materials, they produce a profoundly different sound from the 20th century instruments used in modern orchestras.  Historical instruments, with their softer and more transparent tone, produce a delicacy in the gentler phrases and a pungent bite in the stronger passages.  Using period instruments, the ACO can, in the 21st century, bring audiences closer to the musical genius of Bach, Mozart, Beethoven and other master composers.