Arts Alive San Antonio

As usual, by mid-September, the summer lull is definitely gone. So much is going on with more coming up!

Let’s start with the World Heritage Festival, established to honor and celebrate our unique and beautiful Spanish Missions, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The festival overlaps with the Organization of World Heritage Cities Solidarity Day that occurs annually on Sept. 8. On this date, designated cities are urged to promote their world-heritage places. For us that means the missions. The local World Heritage Festival includes a number of events, including a tour of the missions on Sept. 9; El Camino de San Antonio: Caring for Creation Mass and Walk on Sept. 10, and Rancho de las Cabras Tour, also on Sept. 10. There’s also Music and Movie Under the Stars at Mission Marquee Plaza. (To see details, go to https://www.worldheritagefestival.org)

Another festival featuring a vibrant mix of artistic and cultural events is the annual celebration of the Diez y Seis de Septiembre, to commemorate Mexico’s independence from Spain. These events will be incorporated below in our usual categories of music, visual arts, theater, etc.

On the music front, we are excited to announce the return of the Caritas Series of concerts that highlight choral and organ music. The first concert will feature mezzo-soprano, Jacquelyn Matava and organist Samuel Gaskin in a program titled “Sacred Song.” The recital will celebrate three religions – Christian, Jewish and Hindu – through works by distinguished composers that you have probably never heard of. Included in the program is French composer, Louis Vierne’s “Les Angelus;” Gustav Holst’s
“Vedic Hymns Book 1;” Selections from Darius Milhaud’s “Poemes Juif” (Jewish Poems); and works by Purcell, Dove and others. Matava who won the American Prize for women in opera in 2021 is an assistant professor of voice at Trinity University. Gaskin received first prize in the 2016 University of Michigan International Organ Improvisation Competition. He was assistant organist and choirmaster at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in San Antonio until he left for France after receiving a Fulbright grant in 2022. (Sept. 8 at 7:30 p.m.; Chapel of the Incarnate Word, 4503 Broadway; free)

For a very different musical experience, you can see “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse Live in Concert at the Majestic Theater. Featuring a soundtrack that blends symphonic orchestral music with hip-hop, the show pairs a screening of the animated film with live musicians, electronics and turntables.  The score by Daniel Pemberton, is described as “sprawling” and “boundary -pushing.” In addition, there are songs by Lil Wayne, Jaden Smith and Nicki Minaj. (Sept. 12 at 7 p.m.; Majestic Theater, 224 E. Houston; tickets are $69-$189; www.ticket-center.com/tickets/v/Majestic-Theater-San-Antonio)

 Also at the Majestic, catch Dwight Yoakam Live in Concert. He has sold more than 25 million albums worldwide and he’s a multiple GRAMMY winner. Yoakam is also a recipient of the Artist of The Year award from the Americana Music Association, the most prestigious award offered by the organization. (Sept. 14 ay 8 p.m., Majestic Theater, 224 E. Houston, 210-226-3333; tickets are $49.99 – $129; www.majesticempire.com)

More music: Caifanes, a rock band from Mexico City will be at the Aztec Theater this weekend. The group achieved international fame in the late 1980s with its rock/pop style. (Sept. 8-9; Aztec Theater, 104 N. St Mary’s St.; tickets $115-$161; you can order by phone 844-765-8432 (Theater Land))

In 2019, Carter Davis and Grant Thompson founded the Drugstore Cowboy band that plays hip-hop, folk and pop music. They will be at the Rustic Saturday, starting at 9:30 p.m. (The Rustic, 17619 La Cantera Parkway, suite 204; 210-245-7500; www.therustic.com/sanantonio; free)

Country music fans love Floore’s Country Store in Helotes. The Eli Young Band will perform there Saturday.  Their first No. 1 hit was “Crazy Girl” in 2011. The song “Even if it Breaks Your Heart” was another No. 1 single, nominated for ACM and Grammy Awards. And they keep that momentum going with yet another No. 1 from their 2013 album ”10,000 Towns.” Their latest release is an EP titled “Turn it On.” (Sept. 8 at 10 p.m., John T. Floore’s Country Store, 14492 Old Bandera Rd., Helotes, 78203; 210-695-8827; www.liveatfloores.com; Chris Colson will open the concert at 8:30 p.m.)

And there’s a brand-new music school in San Antonio! It’s called Sage Music and it will officially open Sept. 9. More about that in the coming days.

There are few dance shows in the summer but the Guadalupe Dance Company presented a flamenco dance evening, a couple of weeks ago, and is now offering an evening celebrating the folk dances of Mexico: Celebrando Tradiciones. The vivid, often exuberant, dances will be accompanied by the mariachi music of Mariachi Azteca de America, a resident company at the Gudalupe Center. (Sept. 8 at 8 p.m.; Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center, 1301 Gudalupe St., 78207; tickets are $15-$30, and tables for four, go for $150; call 210-271-3151 or visit www.guadalupeculturalarts.org)

And here’s something to look forward to: Opera San Antonio has announced that its fall production of
“Hansel and Gretel” will be a collaboration with several other local companies, including Ballet San Antonio, the Children’s Chorus of San Antonio and YOSA, the Youth Orchestras of San Antonio.All are resident companies of the Tobin Center. It’s an ambitious undertaking! (Opens Oct. 5 & 7, 2023 at the Tobin Center.)

On to visual arts! The Witte Museum is opening a retrospective of photographer Al Rendon’s 50 years of camera work, taking pictures of family, musicians, charreadas, street scenes; portraits of San Antonio artists, and a lot more. In fact, the title of his exhibit is “Mi Cultura – Bringing Shadows into the Light: The Photography of Al Rendon.” To read more about it, see our article “Al Rendon’s Photos Document San Antonio Life” on this site.

If you are interested in fiber arts, you won’t want to miss this exhibit: TEXtiles: a Celebration of Texas Fiber Art. It is a juried show that includes a range of fiber materials and techniques, from weaving and quilts to paper art form, sculptural pieces, vessels and basketry. Garments & Accessories are also included. The selections were made by two jurors: Mary Heathcott, the executive director of the Contemporary at Blue Star, and Michaele Haynes, a cultural anthropologist. A special section of the exhibit will honor members of the Fiber Artist of San Antonio organization – FASA – who died “but whose work lives on in a special remembrance.” Says the announcement. (Opens Sunday Sept. 10 with a reception, 3-5 p.m. Kelso Art Center, campus of the University of the Incarnate Word, 4301 Broadway, 78209; free and open to the public; closes Oct. 20; call 210-829-6000 to confirm that the Kelso Center is open when you are planning to visit.)

Bihl Haus Arts’s Fundraiser and Exhibition will be sponsored by Jefferson Bank on Sept. 15. The “Fall for the Art” event will feature the work of 26 artists that will be sold to benefit the arts center and gallery. Music and food are included. The event is part of the inaugural “On Fred Corridor Events,” a series of pop-up exhibitions and collaborative projects intended to activate non-traditional exhibition spaces. (Sept. 15, 6:30 – 9:30 p.m.; Jefferson Bank, 2900 Fredericksburg Rd.; $25 donation at the door; you can reserve a ticket at https://www.eventbrite.com)

Diez y Seis de Septiembre is celebrated in a big way, here in San Antonio, so we are including here the arts event relevant to the celebration.

Fotos y Recuerdos exhibit at Centro Cultural Aztlan showcases a span of 24 years of works by Chicano artist Jorge Sandoval.  But he is a filmmaker, producer, writer and photographer, who dedicated himself to preserving and promoting Chicano Arts for 45 years. As a photographer, he focused mostly on cultural events, but he has also traveled to many other places around the world to capture images describing the most vulnerable and history-defining moments. The Aztlan exhibit is part of the annual FOTOSEPTIEMBRE Photography Festival. (Opening reception, Sept. 8, 6-9 p.m., 1800 Fredericksburg Rd., #103; musical performance by Juan & Amnado Tejeda; free and open to the public; closes Oct. 18)

Other arts events of the Fiestas Patrias celebration include Mariachi musicians and Ballet Folklorico de San Antonio performing at Market Square on Sept. 16; URBAN 15’s “Action: Virtual Latino Film Screenings and others. (Will tell you more next week.)

Lots is going on this month. Here’s another gallery exhibit that’s part of FOTOSEPTIEMBRE Festival.
The Musical Bridges Around the World Art Gallery is presenting “Natural Order” featuring three photographers: Robert Michaelson, Kyle Petersen and Barbra Riley. According to the press release, all three “capture, conjure or construct a sense of order and meaning from the natural world. Michaelson volunteers for MBAW as event photographer, which gives him a chance to photograph world-class musicians from across the globe. Petersen focuses on small creatures in our midst, while Riley invents Still Lifes in the style of 17^th century Dutch painting with modern technology and contemporary mores.
Sure, sounds interesting! (Opens Sept. 9, 5-8 p.m; MBAW, 23705 Frontage Rd., #101, 78257; 210-464-1534)

An interesting literary event is going to take place at the Little Flower Basilica: The Poetry of St. Therese, a lecture by FR, Donald Kinney. He will speak about the saint’s “simple, fresh, and pure verses that reveal wonderful new aspects of her life and thought. (Sept. 9 at 9:30 a.m.; Basilica of the National Shrine of the Little Flower, 1715 N. Zarzamora St. 78201; 210-735-9126)