Amman Chamber Orchestra

Amman Chamber Orchestra (ACO), formerly known as the Etihad Chamber Orchestra, is an Amman-based orchestra with a focus on musicians from the Arab World. ACO musicians have so far come from Jordan, Palestine, Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, Oman, Japan, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Germany, Ukraine, Romania, South Korea, Switzerland, Belorussia, Spain, Russia, Portugal, Cuba, Turkey and the United States of America.

Mission

ACO provides an important cultural service to Amman’s public. In a reflection of its mission, the orchestra’s concerts combine Western and Middle Eastern classical music. Alongside the main concert season, orchestra members regularly engage with the wider community in Jordan through outreach and educational work.

The orchestra was founded in 2018 and performed two full concert seasons before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. After an inevitable pause, the orchestra resumed its activities under its founding director Karim Said, in September 2022.

As ACO musicians live all around the world, the orchestra comes together in Amman around one week ahead of each project. 

The orchestra’s concerts have so far taken place in Bank al Etihad’s Auditorium, the Royal Cultural Centre, Al Hussein Cultural Centre, the Amman Academy Theater, and the American Community School’s Arts Centre.

Affiliation with Bank al Etihad

ACO is an initiative of Bank al Etihad Foundation and its concerts form the core of a Western classical and Middle Eastern classical annual music season.