Classical Music for Kids® (CMK) Click to view video was created by the American Classical Orchestra (ACO) as an education and out-reach program to introduce children to the pleasures of classical music in an interactive, age-appropriate, entertaining format.  Since CMK’s creation in 1999, the Orchestra has reached more than 200,000 students and their families with its in-school and family matinee performances.

For this work, the American Classical Orchestra was chosen from a national pool of candidates in 2002 to receive the Early Music America’s “Bringing History Alive” award.  This award is given to the music organization exemplifying excellence in introducing classical music to primary- and secondary-school students.  In 2006, the ACO received the prestigious National Endowment for the Arts award, “Learning in the Arts for Children and Youth.”

The ACO is one of our country’s few orchestras performing on period, or historic instruments; and we are dedicated to fostering and preserving the great music literature of the Baroque, Classical, and early Romantic eras.  Under the direction of founder Maestro Thomas Crawford, the ACO has been performing for over 20 years, and we have become a leading orchestra in the New York Metropolitan and Tri-State area.

Classical Music for Kids® consists of two inter-related parts: live public performances intended for a family audience and an education and out-reach program held in school classrooms.  The in-school program is part of our coordinated approach of partnering with the schools and their teachers, both to teach the children classical music and to prepare them for the program to be presented to a broader audience in a concert hall.

The participating teacher receives a curriculum guide that complements the repertoire at the public performances.  Prior to the concert, the students learn about the music in class and attend an in-school interactive performance, usually led by Maestro Thomas Crawford and guest artists.  The students learn how to attend a live performance and are introduced to the period instruments, composers, musicians and music excerpts from the program.

We bring history alive for students by recreating performances similar to those given in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries.  The students learn the differences between the period instruments and their modern counterparts, and they hear the beautiful music as it was intended to be heard.