News Roundup, April 18, 2024
The San Antonio Philharmonic will be presenting its Classics 8 concert, featuring Vadim Gluzman as both director and violinist. Gluzman is internationally recognized as one of the best performing artists of today. The concert will open with Russian composer Alfred Schnittke’s multi-movement work in the style of Baroque music. Other works are Mozart’s Symphony No. 25 – known as the “little G Minor symphony,” which he wrote when he was 17- and Beethoven’s sublime Violin Concerto, performed by Gluzman.
(April 19 and 20 at 7:30 p.m.; First Baptist Church of San Antonio, 515 McCullough Ave.; tickets are $35-$75, 210-201-6006 or at www.saphil.org)
The orchestra’s 2023-24 season will have two more concerts. Season tickets for 2024-25 will be available on April 25.
The Greater San Antonio Community Bands Association will hold its third annual Community Band Music Festival this Saturday. The organization is composed of ten community bands in the San Antonio area – with more than 300 musicians – who will be performing throughout the day. Starting the festivities will be the oldest German band outside Germany, the Boerne Village Band, which was founded in 1860. The organization has partnered with the Beethoven Maennerchor to present the festival in their outdoor Biergarten in the King William district. (April 20, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; 422 Pereida St., 78207;
www.gsacba.com)
The always active AGARITA Ensemble was planning two more of its outdoor Humble Hall concerts, but storm predictions made them change plans. The concerts are going indoors: Saturday, April 20 at the
Forest Hills Library at 1:30 p.m., and at the Guerra Library at 3 p.m. The quartet will be joined by guest artist, violinist Aimee Lopez. Concerts are free and open to everyone. (Forest Hills Library, 5245 Ingram Rd., 78228; Guerra Library, 7978 Military Drive West, 78227.)
UTSA will host classical guitar virtuoso, David Russell, who will perform his 2024 USA Tour program. He is the second Grammy-winning artist to perform at UTSA this year. Russell was inducted into the Hall of Fame of the Guitar Foundation of America in 2018, and has been recognized as a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Music in London since 1997. He is an honorary member of the oldest Spanish guitar society, Amigos de la Guitarra. Russell’s concert follows the UTSA recent Southwest Guitar Symposium that included a great deal of classical guitar music-making. His upcoming program includes Spanish composers and arrangements of other compositions. Sounds like “not to be missed.” (April 20 at 7:30 p.m.; UTSA Recital Hall; free)
The Hill Country Vocal Arts Society/Hill Country Choral, a community group of 40 voices, will present a program of music composed for animated films such as “Mary Poppins,” “The Lion King,” “Little Mermaid” and others. (April 20 at 4 p.m.; Tucker Hall, 320 St. Peter St., Kerrville, 78028; 830-257-8162;
$% for kids, $15 adults www.stpeterskerville.com)
The San Antonio Recorder Society will perform a Shakespeare Day Concert playing the music from the time of Shakespear. (April 20 at 1 p.m.; Central Library, 600 Soledad St., 78205; free)
The Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center is getting ready for the 42nd Annual Tejano Conjunto Festival which will take place May 15-19. Tickets for the fest are on sale now: https://guadalupeculturalarts.org.
Poetry is a close relative of music and April is National Poetry Month. At this time URBAN 15 has officially kicked off its Mega Corazon, a pre-recorded poetry reading series that features well-known San Antonio poets, such as Jesse Cardona, Marisol Cortez, Anthony “The Poet” Flores, Amalia Ortiz, Jim LaVilla Havelin, Carmen Tafolla, and others, including the current San Antonio Poet Laureate, Eddie Vega. And you can vote for your favorite to win the Gregg Barrios Precious Words Prize. The broadcast may be watched at any time throughout Poetry Month at www.urban15.org/live-stream).
The Jump-Start Performance Co. has something new for you: “Better Butter,” A Collection of Non-fiction Plays written and performed by a group of eight people, including Sarah Tijerina, Clint Taylor, Gio Lugo, Maddie Ramos, Marcus McEvoy, Maddie Ramos, Bree Rubio and Joyous Windrider. They produced all new plays. The live show has a continuously changing play-list. “The performances will encompass comedy, tragedy, joy, fear, and everything in between,” says the press release. The release goes on: “What sets this collective apart are the unique and diverse voices of the ensemble, and the particular essence of San Antonio.” (April 19-20 and April 26-27 at 8 p.m.; Jump-Start Theater, 710 Fredericksburg Rd.; choose what you pay, from 0 to $25, available at www.jump-start.org
At the Empire Theater you may want to catch “Cornyation 2024, a spoof on the Fiesta coronation spectacles. (April 23-25) And the Coronation of the Queen takes place the next day at the Majestic Theater. (8 p.m.; tickets $52.50-$100.25) That will be followed by The World Ballet Series: “Swan Lake” probably the best- known ballet of all time. (7 p.m., Majestic Theater, 224 E. Houston, 210-226-5700; www.majesticempire.com)
The Dancers of Ballet San Antonio present “Encore,” a dancer-run performance in the BSA studio. (One night only. (April 27 at 7:30 p.m.; free but donations are welcome. The proceeds will go to the Dancer Fund, which pays for the equipment and emergency expenses “that keep us dancing at our best,” said the dancers. Address: 2211 NW Military Hwy.
On the visual art front, there’s always news.
The Contemporary at Blue Star has issued the 2024 Red Dot Open Call for artists who want to participate in the 34th Annual Red Dot Art Sale Fundraiser. Submissions must be received by May 1, before midnight. Each artist may submit 3-5 artworks. The curator will select one work to be included in the Red Dot Art Sale and subsequent shows. Artists must have at least 5 years of relevant experience or specialized training. Red dot art will be exhibited in the galleries but it is a fundraiser not a part of the regular exhibit program. Deadline for submission is May 1, 2024. Red Dot Sale party will take place Nov. 13, 6-10 p.m. The sales exhibit closes Jan. 5. Artists may get advice on how to price their work at the Red Dot Q&A, April 19 at 12 p.m. From experience in past years, we can say that Red Dot is a great opportunity to acquire an original art piece.
A new exhibit is opening at the cozy Echo Gallery in Blanco. Yes, in Blanco, which can be only an hour away for San Antonians. The show will feature the work of French painter and printmaker, Denise Canat
Titled “April in Paris.” The press release says that “world travel informs her art, selection of media, color palette and the stylistic aesthetic of Asian art. The gallery was praised in the media as “uniquely curated art gallery and antique store. There’s also a sculpture garden that visitors stop to see. (April 20, 5-7 p.m.;
1725 S. US Hwy 281 in Blanco.)
The McNay Art Museum is inviting you to a journey – ”Around the World in 80 Designs” – a travelogue to show the connection to place through the theater arts. Forty artworks from the museum’s Tobin Collection of Theater Arts along with 40 companion images invite visitors to explore various destinations, from the Nile River in Egypt to an airport tarmac in Beijing. Using maquettes, the McNay presents the theater arts through productions like “Aida,” “Death in Venice,” and “Nixon in China.” Near the artwork are images that consider what the locations for these productions might look like in real life. The Tobin Collection is a remarkable, consisting of more than 12,000 artworks.
Fiesta Addedum
April is also Fiesta month in San Antonio. Here are a few events that have an arts component, although most events have some live music :
Fiesta Arts Fair is a showcase for many different artists displaying work in a range of media – Ceramics, Fiber and Leather, Glass, Jewelry, Mixed Media, Digital Art and more.
Music acts include classical guitarist George Gayton, Mitch Webb and the Swindles, and country singer Dale Watson. (UTSA Southwest Campus, 300 Augusta St.; $20.
Chaparral Music and Heritage Festival is a country music showcase. (Noon to midnight April 20, Civic Park at Hemisfair, free.)
Ford Mariachi Festival includes mariachi musicians and folkloric dancers from schools performing on barges on the San Antonio River; (April 25, River Walk downtown; free.)
The San Antonio Symphonic Band will perform at 2 p.m. April 28 at the Navarro House, 228 S. Laredo St., free.
Fiesta Jazz Festival, 11 a.m.; Akyssa Allgood Quartet takes the stage at 7:30 p.m.; April 26, University of the Incarnate Word, 1 Camino Santa Maria; free.