LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton Inc. & American Composers Orchestra Announce Partnership to Commission & Premiere New Music by Emerging American Composers

American Composers Orchestra (ACO) and LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton Inc. today announced a new, two-year partnership to promote the creation of new orchestral works by emerging American composers. In 2009, LVMH will support the commission of a new work by composer Erin Gee and its premiere by ACO at the orchestra's season-opening concert at 7:30pm on Monday, November 30 at Carnegie Hall's Zankel Hall (57th St. and 7th Ave.). The second composer will be selected through a national search, with the commissioning guidelines and theme to be announced at a press conference on November 16th, 2009.

Renaud Dutreil, Chairman of LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton in North America said: "LVMH and American Composers Orchestra share a commitment to supporting emerging American artists. For LVMH, this stems directly from our work to foster creative passion and exalt artistic endeavor. We consider it a great privilege to help artists begin their careers, and offer them the opportunity to express and develop the full scope of their talent." Dutreil added: "LVMH is extremely proud to embark on this partnership with the American Composers Orchestra, an organization that has distinguished itself in its decades of pioneering work to create new opportunities for young composers."

ACO's strategic focus is the creation of new opportunities for emerging American composers. Its programs have consistently pushed the boundaries of the conventional orchestra. Throughout ACO's three decades, the orchestra has been renowned for its commitment to innovation and for fostering of the most adventurous new American music, including numerous premieres by early-career composers who have gone on to major world acclaim.

LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton and its Chairman & Chief Executive Officer Bernard Arnault are deeply committed to supporting the arts. Consistent with a culture centered on innovation and creativity, LVMH has sponsored projects worldwide that celebrate the arts through restoration of historical monuments, patronage of major national exhibitions, enrichment of major museums' collections and the encouragement of contemporary creation, including by young creators (please see www.LVMH.com for more information about the Group's Stradivarius loans, "Young Virtuosos" concerts and the LVMH Young Artists' Award). Dutreil said: "The partnership with ACO is another opportunity for LVMH to expand its commitment in supporting artistic endeavor and creative ingenuity; it also is the first time the leading luxury group has supported the creation of an original musical composition in America."

At a time when corporate support for the arts and other non-profits is on the decline, this new partnership between LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton Inc. and American Composers Orchestra is an important and positive development that strengthens the ties between business and the arts, furthering the bond of creativity and beauty between fashion, visual arts, and music.

About ACO

Now entering its 33rd year, American Composers Orchestra is the only orchestra in the world dedicated to the creation, performance, preservation, and promulgation of music by American composers. ACO makes the creation of new opportunities for American composers and new American orchestral music its central purpose. ACO also serves as an incubator of ideas, research, and talent, as a catalyst for growth and change among orchestras, and as an advocate for American composers and their music. To date, ACO has performed music by more than 600 American composers, including 200 world premieres and newly commissioned works. Through its concerts at Carnegie Hall and other venues, recordings, radio broadcasts, educational programs, New Music Readings, and commissions, ACO identifies today's brightest emerging composers, champions established composers as well as those lesser-known, and increases awareness of the infinite variety of American orchestral music. Among the honors ACO has received are special awards from the American Academy of Arts and Letters and from BMI recognizing the orchestra's outstanding contribution to American music. ASCAP has awarded its annual prize for adventurous programming to ACO 32 times, singling out ACO as "the orchestra that has done the most for new American music in the United States," including the 2008 ASCAP Morton Gould Award for Innovative Programming. ACO received the inaugural METLife Award for Excellence in Community Engagement, and a proclamation from the New York City Council. ACO recordings are available on ARGO, CRI, ECM, Point, Phoenix USA, MusicMasters, Nonesuch, Tzadik, and New World Records, and online at InstantEncore.com.

About Erin Gee

Erin Gee's music defies a simple description. Often, an impression of ephemeral, fragile poetry is formed from the gossamer-quality of the work, which continually aspires to plumb the possibilities of the human voice, while also serving as the inspirational source for contemplating new instrumental sounds. - Kultur Steiermark

This is composer Erin Gee's first professional orchestral commission. Her musical output has largely revolved around unique, fascinating vocal experiments. Gee's new piece, entitled Mouthpiece XIII: Mathilde of Loci, Part 1, will meld video art created by her brother, Colin Gee (an accomplished movement artist and actor, who will also perform onstage during the concert), her electronically processed voice, and vivid orchestral colors. Mouthpiece XIII: Mathilde of Loci, Part 1 is inspired by a fictionalized account of the life of Matteo Ricci, proponent of the Memory Palace or the Method of Loci, a mnemonic technique. Gee, who is American, currently lives in Austria where she completed her Ph.D. in music theory from the University of Music and Dramatic Arts Graz in 2007. Gee's awards for composition include the Teatro Minimo first round prize from the Zurich Opera House, the International Rostrum of Composers Award, the Samuel Barber Rome Prize, the Impuls award, the Gianni Bergamo Prize, and a CAP award from the American Music Center. She has worked with the Radio Symphony Orchestra Vienna, the Vokalensemble Zurich, the Los Angeles Philharmonic New Music Group, the Latvian Radio Chamber Choir, and Klangforum Wien among others.

About LVMH

LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton is the world's leading luxury goods group. The Group is represented in Wines and Spirits by a portfolio of brands that includes Moet & Chandon, Dom Perignon, Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin, Krug, Ruinart, Chateau d'Yquem, Hennessy, Glenmorangie, Ardbeg, Belvedere Vodka, Chopin, 10 Cane, Chandon, Cloudy Bay, Terrazas de los Andes, Cheval des Andes, Green Point, Cape Mentelle, Newton. Its Fashion and Leather Goods division includes Louis Vuitton, the world's leading luxury brand, as well as Celine, Loewe, Kenzo, Givenchy, Thomas Pink, Fendi, Emilio Pucci, Donna Karan, Marc Jacobs, Berluti, StefanoBi as well as eLUXURY, the authoritative online source for luxury goods on the Internet. LVMH is present in the Perfumes and Cosmetics sector with Parfums Christian Dior, Guerlain, Parfums Givenchy, Parfums Kenzo, Perfumes Loewe as well as other promising cosmetic companies (BeneFit Cosmetics, Make Up For Ever, Acqua di Parma and Fresh). LVMH is also active in selective retailing through DFS, Sephora in Europe and the United States, Le Bon Marche and la Samaritaine. LVMH's Watches and Jewelry division comprises TAG Heuer, Chaumet, Christian Dior Watches, Zenith, Fred, Hublot and De Beers Diamond Jewellers Limited, a joint venture created with the world's leading diamond group.

For more information

American Composers Orchestra: www.americancomposers.org

LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton: www.lvmh.com

Composer Erin Gee: www.erin-gee.com

High resolution photos: www.christinajensenpr.com (ACO's gallery)

SOURCE: LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton Inc.

For American Composers Orchestra: 
Christina Jensen PR 
646-536-7864 
christina@christinajensenpr.com 
or 
For LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton Inc.: 
Kekst and Company 
Molly Morse, Victoria Weld 
212-521-4800 
molly-morse@kekst.com 
victoria-weld@kekst.com