Da Camera of Houston is one of America’s leading presenters and producers of ensemble music. Founded in 1987 to create new audiences for classical music through inventive programming, Da Camera brings together American and international artists of world renown to perform in its annual subscription series at Houston’s Wortham Center and The Menil Collection. Under the leadership of artistic director Sarah Rothenberg since 1994, the organization’s goals include connecting music to other art forms; expanding the awareness of American music through the presentation of jazz and the commissioning of new compositions; and developing relationships with a wide range of cultural institutions locally, nationally and internationally.
In 1995, Da Camera presented “Marcel Proust’s Paris”, the first of its acclaimed Music and the Literary Imagination programs conceived and directed by Sarah Rothenberg, as part of the Great Performers at Lincoln Center series in New York. Subsequent multi-disciplinary Da Camera productions created by Sarah Rothenberg have been performed on Lincoln Center’s New Visions series, Washington’s Kennedy Center, London’s Barbican Centre, Amsterdam’s De Ijsbreker and The Concertgebouw, and across the United States. Da Camera was presented the CMA/ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming in recognition of its 2005/06 season, following a special commendation in 1998 for Outstanding Programming Concepts. In 2007, Da Camera of Houston received the CMAcclaim Award from Chamber Music America in recognition of the organization’s contributions to the field.
