News R0undup, April 25, 2025
Guiseppe Verdi is one of the best-known composers of all time, and certainly the most prolific and admired opera composer. So, it was nice to hear that the UTSA Lyric Theatre will be presenting the VERDI PROJECT, as the final production of its 2023-24 season. The show is a new collaboration effort between the school’s theatre, orchestra and choral groups, directed by Jourdan Laine Howell. The massive production marks the university’s School of Music’s 50th anniversary.
The Lyric Theatre’s vocalists will perform Verdi’s arias and melodies, while narration will be delivered by
UTSA professor emeritus, Gary Mabry, and Justin Chappell. The Youth Orchestras of San Antonio’s music director, Troy Peters, and Jordan D. Boyd, will conduct the orchestra and all three choral ensembles. The combined choirs will deliver the vocal power that Verdi’s choruses deserve. Sounds like a not-to-be-missed event! (April 26 at 7 p.m. at the Edgewood Theater for Performing Arts, 402 Lance St., 78237; tickets at www.music.utsa.edu/tickets)
The AGARITA Chamber Music Ensemble will perform a diverse program with guest artist, cellist Santiago
Canon Valencia from Colombia. On the program: music by Boccherini, Ginastera, Miguel del Aguila, Canon Valencia, Golijov, Couperin, Tansman and Bach. (April 27 at 7:30 p.m.; Carver Community Cultural Center, 226 N. Hackberry St. 78202; tickets are free but you must reserve at
www.eventbrite.com/e/agarita-santiago-canon-valencia-tickets)
The Symphony of the Hills will play its final concert of the current season April 25 and use the occasion to announce its upcoming season. The theme of the April 25th concert is “Larger Than Life” and will
feature Donald Crandall performing the piano solo from Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No.1. Also on the program are “Enigma Variations” by Elgar, Canon in D by Pachelbel, and more. (April 25 at 7 p.m.; Cailloux Theater, 910 Main, Kerrville; the new season announcement will precede the concert; tickets are $29-$59 at www.symphonyofthehills.org)
The San Antonio Chamber Music Society has a treat for music lovers: The Viva Tango Ensemble which will conclude the presenting organization’s current season. The concert will feature “Letters from Argentina,” by Lalo Schifrin that “recreates an unreal past in which a memory persists, and invites the audience to a journey full of promises and dreams.” Famous tangos by Astor Piazzola are on the program, too, since the two composers are key figures in tango history. Piazzola created a new strand – nuevo tango – which expanded the form. The ensemble includes the following instruments: violin, clarinet, bandoneon, piano, double bass and percussion. (April 28, at 3:15; Trinity Baptist Church, 319 E. Mulberry Ave.; $25 at the door or online at the SACMS site www.sacms.org/concert-5)
The San Antonio Choral Society’s Sonoro Choir will perform Donald McCullough’s Holocaust Cantata, a poignant musical presentation for chamber choir and solo cello, offered in honor of Yom HaShoah or International Holocaust Remembrance Day, in commemoration of the six million Jews killed in the Holocaust. Using translations of original Polish texts found in the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washinton DC, this work alternates between music and readings. The event is presented in partnership with the Holocaust Memorial Museum of San Antonio. Dr. Jennifer Seighman will conduct.
(April 28 at 3 p.m.; Congregation Agudas Achim, 16550 Huebner RD., 78248; 210-479-0307; https://agudas-achim.org/)
Also on April 28, The Youth Orchestras of San Antonio, known as YOSA, will present its final concerts of the year, “Fiesta Finale,” consisting of three concerts with different programs: at 2 p.m., 5 p.m. and 8 p.m., at Watson Fine Arts Center, St. Philip College, 600 S. Mitman St., 78203; free; www.yosa.org/events/
And another concert on the same Sunday is taking place at the Laurie Auditorium on the campus of Trinity University. The Symphonic Wind Ensemble will play at 3 p.m.; free.; One Trinity Place, 78212; www.trinity.edu.
At The Tobin Center, you can catch the Tony-Award-Winning musical “Hairspray” which will have two shows. The New York Times reviewed this new theatrical version, saying:
“Featuring the beloved score of hit songs…. “Hairspray” is fresh, winning and deliriously tuneful.”
(April 30 and May 1 at 7:30 p.m.; Tobin Center, 100 Auditorium Circle; tickets at 210-223-8624 or
tickets@tobincenter.org)
If you love ballet, you’ll want to see “Swan Lake” at the Majestic, performed by professional dancers with live orchestra. (April 26 at 7 p.m.; Majestic Theater, 224 E. Houston St.; tickets $40-$125; www.majesticempire.com/events/swan-lake)
You can enjoy the voices of Celtic Woman, probably one of the most beloved all-female performing ensembles on the world. (May 2, Majestic Theater; tickets are $64-$155; www.majesticempire.com/events/celtic-woman)
And more music, Armenian music! The Cadence Ensemble will play Armenian traditional music.
(April 26 at 7 p.m.; St. Sophia’s Greek Orthodox Church, 2504 N. St. Maty’s St., 78212; A $10 donation is suggested for the Armenian Church of San Antonio)
For something very different, there’s BRONCO, the Mexican “grupero” band formed by Jose Guadalupe Esparza. (April 27 at 8 p.m.; Boeing Center at Tech Port; www.boeingcentertechport.com)
The theater scene is still relatively quiet but there’s a new production in Boerne: “The Explorers’ Club” by Nell Benjamin. It’s billed as “a hilarious comedy” set in 1879 London. The all-male club is in turmoil over admitting a woman into their group. (Through May 12; $14-$25; Hill Country Arts Foundation Point Theater, 120 Point Theatre Rd. S; Ingram, Texas, 78025; 830-367-5121; www.hcaf.com)
And Jump-Start is giving you more chances to see “Better Butter” a collection of original plays, encompassing comedy, tragedy, joy, fear, and everything in between. (April 26-27 at 8 p.m.; Jump-Start Theater, 710 Fredericksburg Rd.; choose what you pay, from 0 to $25; www.jump-start.org)
The San Pedro Playhouse is gearing up to open a new production of the always popular musical,” West Side Story” (Opens May 10 and runs through June 2.; box office can be reached at 210-733-7258; boxoffice@thepublicsa.org)
And the Majik Theater is ready to open “The Big Friendly Giant,” which is an adaptation of the beloved novel by Roald Dahl. The show closes the theater’s current season while also kicking off its 30th anniversary, complete with a GIANT 30th Birthday Party celebration before opening night. (May 4 at 4:30 p.m.) The show will close June 2; tickets are $25 for adults and $20 for kids, 3-17 and other groups, such as the military and students.
The Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center’s Cinefestival is seeking entries for the 45th festival coming up July 11-14. The festival will accept films finalized after January 2023, continuing to call for programming focused on Chicano, Latinx and Native American cinema, with emphasis on Texas and San Antonio. The deadline is May 5, 2024; cine@guadalupeculturalarts.org; https://filmfreeway.com/CineFestivalSanAntonio
The Ekphrastic Poetry Competition 2024 received a total of 108 contest entries. All winners -adult and youth – are invited to read their entries at the celebration at Ruby City. Ekphrastic poetry is poetry written in response to– or inspired – by a work of visual art. (April 27 at 10 a.m.; Ruby City, 150 Camp St.; the reading will take place in the front courtyard if weather allows. In case of rain, it will move inside the museum. The public is invited to attend; free)
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