Austin Camerata

Since its inception in 2016, Austin Camerata has challenged the traditional ideas of how musicians present classical chamber music. Based in Austin, Texas, the organization enriches communities new to the world of classical music by offering primarily free, interactive concerts in unconventional venues, collaborating with individuals from varying artistic disciplines and striving for the highest degree of artistic excellence. Previous collaborations include a fully staged ballet accompanying the chamber symphony arrangement of Shostakovich’s String Quartet No. 8, short stories written by author Fatima Kola inspired by Benjamin Britten’s Three Divertimenti for String Quartet, a newly commissioned work for string quartet entitled Three Interventions by Michael Alec Rose, and solo dance shorts interpreting movements from Bach’s Solo Cello Suites and Partitas for Solo Violin. Austin Camerata’s collaborative platforms provide new ways for audiences to experience the underlying passions, narratives, and excitement inherent in classical music, and give musicians and artists the opportunity to join forces and explore new levels of creativity. As stated by one audience member, “I laughed, and cried—a cliché, but I can’t think of a single other entertainment experience that elicited so much thought and emotion.”