DA CAMERA OF HOUSTON RECEIVES MAJOR GRANTS FROM NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS

DA CAMERA OF HOUSTON RECEIVES MAJOR GRANTS FROM NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS

Support for jazz concerts, chamber music concerts and a new recording includes Da Camera’s largest ever single grant from the federal agency

Houston, TX, May 4, 2010 – Da Camera of Houston announces that it has received three major grants from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA).

“Da Camera has a long-standing history of success with the NEA,” said Executive Director Sarah Loudermilk. “This year marks the largest cumulative grant in our history from this federal agency. The grants are awarded by panels made up of our national peers, and this demonstrates the high level of respect that our colleagues have for Da Camera and Artistic Director Sarah Rothenberg’s thoughtful programming.”

American Masterpieces: Three Centuries of Artistic Genius is a major initiative to acquaint Americans with the best of their cultural and artistic legacy. Through American Masterpieces, the NEA sponsors performances, exhibitions, tours and educational programs across all art forms that reach large and small communities in all 50 states. The chamber music component of American Masterpieces celebrates the extraordinary and rich evolution of chamber music in the United States.

In the American Masterpieces category, Da Camera has been awarded $40,000 – its largest ever single grant from the NEA – in support of the organization’s 2010/2011 jazz series and related educational activities. The series includes performances by the supergroup WATTS with drummer Jeff “Tain” Watts, trumpeter Nicholas Payton, saxophonist David Sánchez and bassist Christian McBride; vocalist Tierney Sutton; vibraphonist Stefon Harris and Blackout; clarinetist Anat Cohen with a tribute to Benny Goodman; pianist Geri Allen and guitarist Lionel Loueke. This represents the third grant awarded to Da Camera in the three years American Masterpieces grants have been awarded.

Da Camera has been awarded a grant of $22,500 in the Access to Artistic Excellence category. The grant supports a recording of works by Asian American composers. A collaboration between Da Camera and the performing ensemble Music From China, the compact disc will include works by composers Zhou Long and Shih-Hui Chen. The recording is to include Zhou’s The Farewell for pipa, erhu and chamber orchestra, which appeared on Da Camera’s program Songs of the Earth in January, 2009. Houston-based composer Shih-Hui Chen is on the faculty of the Shepherd School of Music. Her Shu Shon Key (Remembrance), featuring viola soloist Hsin-Yun Huang, was co-commissioned for Da Camera’s 2007/2008 20th anniversary season.

Da Camera receives $16,000 in a second Access to Artistic Excellence grant, supporting three chamber music concerts during the 2010/2011 season: Music for Rothko celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Rothko Chapel; the Ebène String Quartet; and pianist and Artistic Director Sarah Rothenberg’s The Blue Rider: Kandinksky and Music.

Information about these programs and more can be found at www.dacamera.com and facebook.com/dacamera.

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Da Camera of Houston’s concerts feature small ensembles performing chamber music, jazz, early music and contemporary music.  A vital institution in the world of chamber music, Da Camera is a source of innovative programming, notably Artistic Director Sarah Rothenberg’s programs connecting chamber music with literature and the visual arts.  Da Camera is nationally acclaimed for thought-provoking chamber music programming, as well as a jazz series with a unique balance between renowned performers and emerging artists.