Arts Alive San Antonio

The arts scene is definitely getting livelier!

This weekend another well-known chamber music group, Camerata San Antonio, will launch its 2021-22 season with in-person concerts at three area locations. “We are so excited to perform for you and enjoy chamber music TOGETHER this year,” said Camerata’s season announcement.

Co-founder and artistic director of the group, Ken Freudigman, explained that in choosing the programming for the season he kept the tradition of featuring string quartet works by the great classical composers but added new voices “that have not been performed that much,” such as voices of Black and Asian composers.

A good example of that is the opening concert, Adventures (Sept 24-26),which will feature two “greats” from the past, Haydn and Beethoven, but also African-American composer, Chick Corea, who died last February. Primarily known for his work in jazz and jazz fusion genres, he also wrote the piece that will be performed this weekend, “Adventures of Hippocrates” first commissioned and played by the Santa Fe Chamber Music Society and the Orion String Quartet in 1994. The composition is a suite of five movements, each exploring a different tempo and rhythmic character. Program notes describe the piece in this way: “The music is as fresh as writing a string quartet was for Chick Corea.”

Another black composer, Coleridge Taylor Perkinson, will be part the Camerata Recital in October, and still another contemporary composer, Kenji Bunch, will be showcased in the Fairy Tales program, later in the season. One concert will be devoted entirely to the French master Ravel. Altogether, the season consists of six programs, each performed three times at three different locations.

The locations are: Kerrville First Presbyterian Church, the University of the Incarnate Word and a new location in Northwest San Antonio – the Episcopal Church of the Holy Spirit. The latter is close to many newer neighborhoods and, with proper promotion, should attract a grateful audience.

In addition to Freudigman who is a cellist, Camerata San Antonio includes: Emily Freudigman (viola), Matthew Zerweck (violin) and Anastasia Parker, also a violinist. Pianist Viktor Valkov will join the quartet for certain concerts. (To see details and purchase tickets, which must be purchased online, visit
www.cameratasa.org)

Earlier this week, we already told you about SOLI Chamber Ensemble’s season, starting Monday (see feature story from Sept. 21 on this site), and next week it will be the turn of Musical Bridges Around the World. Stay tuned – lots of good music coming our way!

And music will fill the halls at the Tobin Center in the coming days, too. The Monkees Farewell Tour stops there Sept. 25, featuring two members of the original group – Michael Nesmith and Micky Dolenz who now perform as a duo. Expect to hear songs that span the band’s 50-year career. (7 p.m. Sept 25; $44.50-$99.50; tickets@tobincenter.com; 210-223-8624. Pre-show dining available)

On Sept. 27, Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook who formed Squeeze in the 1970s, will bring the familiar sounds back to the Tobin stage for one night (7:30 p.m., ticket prices as above); and the next day, Sept 28, a different duo will follow them- the flamenco-influenced Mexican guitarists known as Rodrigo y Gabriela $29.50- $59.50). The Kingston Trio takes over the smaller Alvarez Theater on Sept. 30 (7:30 p.m., $46.50) 

More music: Jazz’SAlive festival returns to downtown stages this Friday and Saturday, specifically to stages set-up for the occasion in Travis and Legacy parks. It’s all free and it starts at 5:30 p.m. and goes on into the night. Bring a blanket or folding chair.

And more music: The Colombian singer/songwriter known as Maluma will entertain crowds at the AT&T Center, Sunday, Sept.26, at 7 p.m.  He describes his music as “Urban Pop” and he is clearly becoming an international star. (AT&T Center, 1 AT&T Center Parkway, 78219; check the center’s website for ticket prices which cover a huge range.)

We mentioned a flamenco-influenced music above in connection with the guitar duo. Well, if you like flamenco – music and dance – you are in luck. Arte y Pasion, a San Antonio-based company led by dancer Tamara Adira, is presenting “Tradicion y Transformacion” an evening of flamenco dance and song at the Brick at Blue Star. In addition to Adira, the show will also feature dancers Genevieve Obregon and Drea Pacot, guitarist Randy Cordero, and several guest artists: singer Jose Cortez of Los Angeles, highly praised dancer/choreographer Edwin Aparicio of Washington, D.C., and Gopal Slavonic, a flamenco guitarist from San Francisco.

According to the press release, local club, Cermens de la Calle, will sponsor a flamenco flashmob which is supposed to take place just before the show. The idea is to raise awareness of flamenco and the upcoming We Flamenco Festiva also sponsored by Carmens de la Calle and its owner Paula Sullivan. Sounds like fun! (Flashmob 7:45 p.m., show 8:30 p.m., Sept. 30; Brick at Blur Star, 108 Blue Star, 78204; tickets $10, for tickets and sponsorships visit: https://arteypasion.ticketleap.com; for info call 210-241-2771)

The McNay Art Museum has just opened a new exhibit, Monet and Whistler in London, in its Zilker Gallery. It’s centered around French impressionist, Claude Monet’s masterpiece Charing Cross Bridge, brouillard (1902), a painting of the river Thames in London. The precious canvas is on loan from the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto. Monet and his fellow Impressionists loved to explore the effects of light on various landscapes, especially waterways. The new exhibit also features rarely seen works by nine artists in the McNay collection “in conversation” with Monet’s famous piece. All loved to paint images of the Thames, including the American expatriate James Abbott McNeill Whistler. Curated by Lyle Williams, Curator of Modern Art at the McNay, the exhibit will be on view through Jan. 23, 2022. (6000 N. New Braunfels, 78209; www.mcnayart.org; free admission on Thursdays 4 -9 p.m.)

A new exhibit has been installed at Art Gallery Prudencia featuring the work of two artists and appropriately titled “Two Women, Two Views.” The two women are Kim Collins from Fort Worth and Mary James from San Antonio. “Their differing interpretations of very similar subject matter give us an invaluable and instructive insight into the artistic process – into the differing ways that the artist looks at the real world,” says the press release. Art Gallery Prudencia is one of the city’s newer and very active exhibition spaces, having been founded by Prudence Lucas in 2018. (The exhibition opens this Saturday, Sept. 25; reception and artist talk 1 – 4 p.m.; 2518 N. Main Ave., 78212; 210-422-8681, www.pridenciagallery.com)

Say Si, the art education organization that serve budding young artists, has moved into new, fancier and more spacious digs at 1310 Brazos St, on the West Side, and it’s inviting the public to see its first show in the new space. It sounds like a must-see. Students’ artwork will be shown alongside works by established San Antonio artists, including the following: Albert Gonzalez, Alex Rubio, Eva Moranga Sanchez, Joel Salcido, Lionel and Kathy Sosa, Ana Fernandez, George Yepes, Carolina Flores, Kat Cadena, Ricky Armendariz, Vincent Valdez, Kathy Vargas, and others, all well-known in our community and beyond. (Opens Oct. 1; Students & Families Open House: 5:30-7 p.m.; Public Reception 7-9 p.m.; 1310 S. Brazos St., 78207.)  Say Si is also currently seeking new students to enroll in its various programs designed to serve different age groups; www.saysi.org)

Film buffs may want to attend the San Antonio screenings of the Manhattan Short Film Festival, presented here by URBAN-15. This film fest is unique in the world because audiences in various cities across the globe vote and collectively choose the winners from 10 finalist entries. The URBAN-15 screenings start Sept.30 and continue nightly through Oct.2 at Herrera Plaza, 1800 W. Commerce, 78207, starting at 8 p.m.  All present get to cast a vote for Best Film and Best Actor. Winners will be announced Oct.4. ($15; purchase tickets at http://urban-15.ticketleap.com/manhattan-short-film-festival/2021. No refreshments will be sold and masks are required. For general info go to www.manhattanshort.com/)

There’s always something going on at the Briscoe Museum, and there are two special events scheduled for this weekend in connection with the current exhibit, Vaqueros de la Cruz del Diablo,a photography show focusing on the Northern Mexican cowboy. The photos were taken by famed photographer, Werner Segarra. On Sept. 25, there will be an Artist Lecture by Segarra with the participation of John Philip Santos as moderator. Book signing is included. On the 26, Segarra will lead a tour of the show, 1-3 p.m. (Both events are free with museum admission; 210 W. Market St.; 210-299-4499, www.briscoemuseum.org)

The Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center is just about ready for the opening of its Latino Book Store in the former Progreso Pharmacy Building located at 1300 Guadalupe St. The ribbon-cutting ceremony is planned for 1 p.m. Oct.1, followed by readings in the evening.

Good news from the city’s Department of Arts & Culture: The department has just distributed $150,000 in grants to 30 San Antonio artists to help them create and display new works throughout the city. Most art disciplines are represented, including visual art, literary art, multidisciplinary pursuits and the performing arts. To see the list, visit www.sanantonio.gov/arts.

And here’s a musical treat for our readers. The Agarita Chamber Players are generously providing a free streaming of their recent concert at the San Antonio Museum of Art, inspired by the recent American Impressionism exhibit. Enjoy! https://youtu.be/IJJf_obyAxA