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We are so glad you’ve come to this page on our website! That means you are either thinking about joining us for a concert or have already purchased tickets and are looking for more information. The Atlantic Classical Orchestra is excited to share the sounds of musical masters of past & present and we want your time with us to be a wonderful experience.
The Atlantic Classical Orchestra serves communities along the Treasure Coast playing in Vero Beach (The Community Church of Vero Beach) and in downtown Stuart (Lyric Theatre).
The Atlantic Classical Orchestra performs from December through April. In December, we perform our holiday concerts, and January through April, we perform our Masterworks Series in Vero Beach and Stuart. In Vero Beach, we present one performance each month, and in Stuart, we offer a matinee and an evening performance once each month. We also perform three chamber concerts each season at the Vero Beach Museum of Art and the Blake Library in Stuart.
The Atlantic Classical Orchestra generally performs as a chamber orchestra. That means we are modeled after the orchestras that played in Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven’s time (but don’t limit ourselves to that repertoire only!) Those composers wrote music that was meant to be heard not in a big concert hall, but in the private (large) homes, estates, and castles of their patrons, in their music rooms and private chambers. A typical chamber orchestra has a substantial contingent of strings (violins, violas, cellos, and basses) as well as pairs of flutes, oboes, clarinets, bassoons, horns, and trumpets. Those 40–50 players are often supplemented with timpani, other percussion, and often additional wind and brass players depending on the demands of the repertoire. Occasionally ACO will perform with a larger number of musicians.
The Atlantic Classical Orchestra plays orchestral music that is non-improvised, structured compositions. We perform music that spans several centuries from Beethoven (whose genius carried into the 19th century as well) to pieces written in the 21st century.
The length of a concert depends upon the pieces being played. Traditionally the program is 90–120 minutes (like with movies, there is some variation). For most ACO concerts there are three pieces: The first part of the concert usually begins with a brief opener (an overture), followed by a concerto (a work featuring a soloist out in the front of the orchestra). Then intermission (half time). The second half features the orchestra playing a long-form work – such as a symphony (with several movements).
To clap or not to clap – well, that depends. When early masterworks made their premiere, audiences were more vocal and participatory. They often made spontaneous displays of approval or disapproval. There was applause and booing. Lots of each, and often. Symphonies, with their multiple movements, once gave audiences ample time to clap between them (or boo). At the premiere of one Beethoven symphony, the audience was so incredibly enthusiastic after a middle movement that Beethoven repeated the movement right then and there!
Comfort is key. We want you to be relaxed and enjoy the music. Some of our patrons enjoy dressing up and making an evening of the symphony. Others come in casual yet respectable clothing.
Most orchestral Masterworks are readily available to listen to through the internet. Music apps like Spotify or Apple Music are options, as well as YouTube.
While we listen to music on our cell phones and we are pretty sure that Beethoven would own one in today’s world, phones don’t have a place in the score. Make sure you turn your phone off or put it in silent mode. ACO and its musicians work hard to make each concert as enjoyable for our patrons as possible. When a cell phone rings in the middle of a concert, it disrupts the entire orchestra and our audience. This is your time with your orchestra and that phone call from your family member or best friend can wait. Better yet, bring them along!
Contact the Box Office at 772-460-0851 or email [email protected].
