ACO/Dranoff Partnership - Experience Excellence

The 2008-09 Season saw a successful partnership with the Dranoff Two Piano Foundation in a series of in-school performances throughout Florida and a pair of orchestral performances of Saint-Saens' charming classic, The Carnival of the Animals, including the ACO's concert debut in Miami!

The partnership began in December 2008, with an in-school performance by Dranoff Prize-winning duo Susan and Sarah Wang collaborating with several members of the ACO at St Edward's School, followed by an evening performance of the Carnival of the Animals at the Waxlax Theatre in Vero Beach.  This Family Concert was free and open to the general public and received much publicity and positive reaction throughout the community.

This was followed up in January 2009 with performances in five elementary schools in the Miami/Dade County public schools with the Dranoff Gold Medal winning piano duo of Silivanova/Puryzhinskiy teaming up with ACO Principal Bassist Luis Gomez and Principal Flutist Tina Burr.  Their concerts were fun, informative and extremely well received by schools and students alike.  The "grand finale" was the full ACO performing at Gusman Hall on the University of Miami campus with Silivanova/Puryzhinskiy in another performance of the Carnival of the Animals. There was an extremely large and enthusiastic audience in attendance, and a special guest narrator- Martin Bookspan, better known for his decades of work as announcer for Metropolitan Opera radio broadcasts as well as his work with Live from Lincoln Center.

Overall, literally hundreds of youth in South Florida had the unique opportunity to hear and meet world-class musicians in an intimate school setting as well as enjoy a "live" performance of one of all-time classics of the orchestral repertoire for youth.  It was an extremely valuable program that greatly assisted the ACO in meeting its mission of providing educational opportunities to all segments of the community.

A special "thank you" to our friends at the Dranoff Two Piano Foundation for their support and friendship throughout the genesis of this program and all the way through to its final fruition in December and January.  Please visit our friends at the Dranoff International Two Piano Foundation at www.dranoff2piano.org.