We’ve all heard the rumors and seen the numerous articles about the death of classical music—and more recently, the reported demise of jazz. The National Endowment for the Arts doesn’t offer encouraging news, either, noting a general decline in public participation in the arts. While these may be trends on the national level, luckily Texas is “like a whole other country.”

Houston’s flourishing arts scene challenges these skeptics on a daily basis. We have an especially vibrant chamber music and jazz community that continues to be infused by visionary musicians and civic/philanthropic leaders. The rolodex of organizations goes from Aperio (chamber music of the Americas) and Ars Lyrica (early music) to Virtuosi (youth chamber orchestra) and Young Audiences (presenting music and more in our schools). Chamber music and jazz can be found in our neighborhoods, schools, clubs, museums, galleries and major performance halls—anywhere a small ensemble can unpack their instruments and attract an audience.

So what is the state of the art scene in Houston? Let’s take a look at what a few of our friends are up to…

• In chamber music this year, our colleagues at the Houston Friends of Chamber Music are celebrating their 50th year with the premiere of a new work commissioned for the occasion.
• Shepherd School of Music’s Pierre Jalbert has been tapped to write his String Quartet #5 for the esteemed Emerson String Quartet, with the premiere scheduled for April 28, 2011.
• New music is the name of the game at Musiqa, a relative newcomer to the scene with five seasons under its belt. The artistic board, made up of composers on the faculty at the Shepherd and Moores schools of music, have slated a world premiere from composer Stewart Wallace on Oct. 16. Taken from his San Francisco Opera work The Bonesetter’s Daughter based on the book by Amy Tan, who also did the libretto for the opera, this work is entitled She Told Me This… And, as a nice lead-in don’t miss Amy Tan’s appearance on Inprint’s Margarett Root Brown reading series on Sept. 20.
• While August is the official jazz appreciation month here in Houston--thanks to our friends at Jazz Education Inc who produce the annual Houston International Jazz Festival presented earlier this month at Discovery Green—in truth every month is jazz appreciation month in Houston! Local clubs, restaurants and bars feature sets from the many jazz luminaries who call Houston home. Artists like Horace Alexander Young, Andre Hayward, Kyle Turner, Bob Henschen, Woody Witt, Mickey Mosely, Horace Grigsby, Kelly Dean, Jose Miguel Yamal, Pamela York are just a handful of the many standouts that can be heard regularly at hotspots like Cezanne, The Red Cat, Truluck’s, Brasil, King Biscuit, Café 4212.
• Here at Da Camera of Houston, chamber music and jazz are alive and well in the concert hall and in our community. Our season features chamber and jazz musicians from Houston and from around the globe. A few standouts include early music superstar Jordi Savall and soprano Montserrat Figuerras, French string quartet Ebene Quartet, New York’s International Contemporary Ensemble, American pianist Jeremy Denk, Israeli jazz clarinetist Anat Cohen and West African jazz guitarist Lionel Loueke. We also present the Houston premiere of artistic director Sarah Rothenberg’s latest multi-media production “The Blue Rider: Kandinsky and Music,” which received accolades for its New York debut in The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal last fall.

All of these wonderful music organizations, as well as our colleagues in theater, dance, visual art and literature, commit resources to building audiences of the future by bringing our art forms into area schools and neighborhoods. If you’re not familiar with what’s happening in the Theater or Museum Districts, odds are that your children are up-to-date.

On any given day, you can find amazing performances, exhibitions, readings and art happenings right here in Houston. And it is all made possible by the generous support of our community—the individual audience members, the dedicated foundations, government entities and culture-conscious corporations.

Yes the economic downturn has affected us all. We may be leaner, but the artistic quality of what is on our stages, in our galleries and permeating our every day lives has never been richer. This season, take advantage of this cultural bounty that we have right here in our hometown. Become an engaged audience member. Get to know our artists, musicians, composers, writers—and tell your friends around the globe about all that we have to offer right here in Houston.

Sarah Duck Loudermilk is executive director of Da Camera of Houston.