The Atlantic Classical Orchestra celebrates two decades of exceptional growth in 2010. As Palm Beach Post concert reviewer Charles Passy stated in January 2009, “What a remarkable group the Atlantic Classical Orchestra has become… under Grammy-nominated Music Director Stewart Robertson, it has become a(n) ambitious and poised group that could claim an honored place in even the most culturally rich communities.”
The beginnings of the Treasure Coast’s only resident, world-class performing arts organization date to 1991. In November of that year, Vero Beach resident and professional conductor Andrew “Andy” McMullan led an all-Mozart program at the Vero Beach Museum of Art’s Leonhardt Auditorium. This concert was quickly followed by the first subscription performances of the young ACO in Stuart and Vero Beach in January 1992. The nascent ensemble grew rapidly- in 1992 a Board of Directors was formed, and by 1995 the orchestra consisted solely of professional musicians. Under McMullan’s artistic leadership and the administrative leadership of the Board of Directors and volunteer friends, the ACO’s growth was remarkable, providing concerts of ever-increasing artistic quality and education programs to area audiences, while simultaneously maintaining a positive “bottom line” financially each and every season of the orchestra’s existence.
 In 2004, the baton was passed to Grammy-nominated Maestro Stewart Robertson, the second and current Music Director of the ACO. Bringing with him experience gained from his two decade tenure as Music Director of the internationally acclaimed Glimmerglass Opera and an equally successful stint as Music Director of the Florida Grand Opera, Maestro Robertson continued the phenomenal artistic growth begun by Andy McMullan. Glowing reviews and invitations from concert promoters for performances and tours worldwide confirm that the ACO has arrived as a real presence on the international classical music scene.
And the ACO’s educational and outreach efforts have progressed at a similarly spectacular pace. March 2008 saw the fruition of the relationship between the ACO and the Treasure Coast Youth Symphony with a “side-by-side” performance of Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Symphony during subscription series concerts. In 2009, a new partnership garnered spectacular results- teaming with Miami’s Dranoff International Two Piano Competition, members of the ACO and prizewinning piano duos from the Dranoff performed special education programs in schools throughout South Florida, culminating in two free Family Concerts featuring the full ACO in performances of Saint-Saëns’ Carnival of the Animals. Education programs are an important facet of the ACO’s mission, and one that continues to expand to better serve the Treasure Coast community.
 2007 saw the inception of the orchestra’s Challenge Gift Campaign, the single most important campaign ever initiated by the orchestra. Prompted by the exceptional generosity of an anonymous donor, the campaign will provide up to $1 million in matching funds for qualifying major gifts to the ACO. At the beginning of the orchestra’s 09-10 Season over $700,000 in gifts and pledges have been raised towards the $1 million goal, with the campaign due to end in December 2011.
With 20 years of extraordinary growth behind it and a special fund campaign well underway that will provide financial stability for the future, the ACO now stands poised for decades of future growth and ever-expanding support to the Treasure Coast community.
|
