Arts Alive San Antonio

Music, dance., merriment, and the holiday spirit are overtaking the city!

In the spirit of the season, the San Antonio Choral Society is teaming up with Sonido Barroco instrumental ensemblethis Sunday to present Advent Vespers at St. John’s Lutheran Church at 6 p.m. The service will focus on “the mystery of the Incarnation as told through scripture and sacred songs.” The music will include Bach’s Cantata 36, Pachelbel’s Magnificat in D Major, and Richard Marlow’s Advent Responsory. Sonido Barroco specializes in early music from the baroque period and plays on period instruments. The Choral Society’s advanced ensemble Sonoro, will be featured at this concert. (Dec. 12, 6 p.m.; St. John’s Lutheran church, 502 E. Nueva St., 78205; free)

Also on Sunday, The Agarita Chamber Players will return to San Antonio Museum of Art’s Grand Hall to help celebrate the museum’s 40^th anniversary and its anniversary exhibition 40 Years 40 Stories. Musical selections will reflect the displayed artwork, says the announcement. Represented composers are Brahms, Caroline Shaw, Piazzolla, Faure, Bolcom, Chopin, Handel and Lena Frank. (Dec. 12 at 11 a.m., SAMA, 200 W. Jones Ave., 210-978-8140; free with museum admission)

Musical Bridges Around the World is presenting a special holiday concert featuring young pianists and string players from our city and county. The musicians were selected either as piano ambassadors for the Gurwitz International Piano Competition or as recipients of the Colburn-Pledge Music Scholarship for string players. They will perform “classical favorites.” The first group of players will include nine pianists, while the string group will have only a cellist and a violinist, as of this writing. (Dec. 12, at 7 p.m.; San Fernando Cathedral, 115 Main Plaza, 78205; free but you must register at https://musicalbridges.org/event/musical-bridges-youth-holiday-concert/)

San Antonio jazz player and club owner, Doc Watkins, and his orchestra, will bring their acclaimed style to the Tobin Center again for one night only, Dec.16. The plan is to entertain the audience with new arrangements of Christmas Big Band favorites, along with a selection from the 1965 TV Special “A Charlie Brown Christmas.” (Dec. 16 at 7:30 p.m.; Tobin Center, 100 Auditorium Circle; tickets $34.50 – $65; tickets@tobincenter.org or 210-223-8624)

Watkins and his orchestra will also perform special holiday concerts at his club, Jazz TX. (The shows are Dec.10-11 at 7 & 9:30 p.m., and Dec. 14-15 at 7:30 p.m. The Dec. 14 event will also feature the Steve Soares Trio, while the Dec. 15 show will include Johnny P and the Wisemen.; 312 Pearl Parkway, Bldg. 6, Suite 6001; 210-332-9386)

On Tuesday, Dec. 14, you can catch George Thorogood and the Destroyers at the Tobin, with special guest Damon Fowler. The band has sold over 15 million albums since 1976, broken records with its
50 Dates/50 States Tour and established itself firmly as a lasting rock-blues music powerhouse in the country. (Dec. 14 at 7:30 p.m.; Tobin Center, tickets $39.50-$65; tickets@tobincenter.org)

Sunday is shaping up as a very busy day. The duo She and Him, known for their own Americana/pop/country style, will grace the Aztec Theater stage also on – you guessed it – Sunday at 8 p.m. They will perform numbers from their Christmas Party album. (Dec. 12 at 8 p.m.; tickets $49.50-$220; Aztec Theater, 104 N. St. Mary’s St., 210-812-4355, www.aztectheatre.com)

For a different kind of fun with music, visit the Dellview Music’s Holiday Market Saturday where a bunch of San Antonio musicians will entertain you while you shop at music vendor booths and mingle with the music loving crowd. (Dec. 11, 122 Latch Dr., 210-320-1052, www.dellviremusic.com)

If you like brass music, (we do), here’s a concert for you – Holiday Pops on the Riverwalk presented by the Alamo City Symphony Viva at the Arneson River Theater. It’s a brass pops concert featuring holiday favorites, Festive Fanfares and more. The brass ensemble will be conducted by guest conductor Emmanuel Godoy. (Dec. 15 at 7 p.m.; Arneson River Theater, 418 Villita, 78205; $25, kids $20; 210-369-8311 or email info@acpaainc.org

On the dance front, there are several “Nutcrackers” coming up. First, we should remind you that Ballet San Antonio’s original version is still playing this weekend at the Tobin Center. Ballet San Antonio is the only professional ballet company in San Antonio, so that’s where you’ll be likely to see the grand ballet dancing, with dancers soaring above the stage and ballerinas floating on the music like ethereal creatures.  (Dec. 10-12, Friday at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday at 2 and 7:30 p.m., and Sunday at @ p.m.; Tobin Center, tickets@tobincenter.org)

Perhaps not quite as soaring but still quite enjoyable are the “Nutcracker” productions staged by youth, pre- professional companies. The Children’s Ballet of San Antonio, led by the very capable Vanessa Bessler is one of them. “This year, the Children’s Ballet of San Antonio will take the magic to a whole new level, combining this timeless classic with immersive and interactive elements, wrapping several cherished holiday traditions into one entertaining and exciting event,” says the press release. We don’t doubt it. Before the show, you’ll encounter a holiday market featuring all kinds of “Nutcracker” items, from tutus and Sugarplum Fairy wands to Christmas ornaments and actual nutcrackers. Little girls will love seeing their hair and faces transformed by hair and makeup stylists, and everyone can get a picture with Santa. (Dec. 10 at 7 p.m., Dec. 11 at 2 p.m. and at 7 p.m., Lila Cockrell Theater, 200 E. Market St., 78205; tickets www.childrensballetofsanantonio.org, 210-462-7660)

Let us remind you that at least two San Antonio theaters also have holiday shows at this time. Elf The Musical is still charming crowds at the Woodlawn Theater (www.woodlawntheatre.org/elf-the-musical)
and the new holiday revue, “Season Greetings from San Antonio” is still highlighting holiday traditions from San Antonio’s diverse communities at the Public Theater.  The Public is also celebrating a milestone – the 700^th production at the venerable San Pedro Playhouse, which is now home to the Public Theater. Built as a playhouse by the city of San Antonio some 90 years ago, the building’s first production company was the San Antonio Little Theater, that many of you still remember.

 The current management will mark the historic occasion by sharing “treats and trivia” from the first 700 shows.

Last week, we talked about museum stores and arts markets as good sources of Christmas gifts, but some San Antonio galleries are even better. We recently visited the cozy Gallery Prudencia, run by Prudence Lucas, and featuring mostly San Antonio artists. This Saturday, Dec. 11, the gallery will host the Christmas Bubbly Afternoon, to celebrate the season and offer gift-ready small works by gallery artists that would make delightful gifts for arts lovers. Gallery artists work in oils, watercolors, pastels, collages and even painted porcelain. (Dec. 11, 12 noon – 4 p.m.; 2518 N. Main Ave., 210-422-8681, www.prudenciagallery.com)

The 26th Annual “Celebration of the Virgin of Guadalupe” exhibit is opening Dec. 12 at the Centro Cultural Aztlan in the Deco District. “Visitors will explore the significance of the Latin American cultural icon through secular visual narratives, showcasing a myriad of artistic representations of her by some of San Antonio’s most noted artists,” explains the press release. The annual Centro Aztlan’s exhibition is the oldest and most revered exhibit on the theme of La Virgen. The range of media represented is wide, including acrylic, pastel, oil, watercolor, sculptures, jewelry and contemporary folk art.(Opening reception and Art Market, Dec. 12, 4-7 p.m.; free; show will be on view Dec. 12-16, and January 3-13, 2022; Centro Cultural Aztlan, 1800 Fredericksburg Rd., Suite 103; 210-432-1896, www.centroaztlan.org)

More original artwork will be shown and sold at the Clamp Light Studios & Gallery this weekend. Located in the Beacon Hill neighborhood, the gallery will host a two-day Holiday Market and “salon-style exhibition” of prints, ceramics, jewelry, and more. The exhibition will be up the entire month of December. However, if you buy something, you can take it home right away. (December 10, 6-10 p.m. and Dec. 11 12-5 p.m.)

And for sheer entertainment after all that art gazing, you may want to attend the Woodlawn’s “Miscast Golden Ticket Cabaret Saturday night, with Cody Garcia and Audrey Belle Adams. Following their show at the Majestic earlier in the evening, they’ll show up at the Woodlawn at 11 p.m. Apparently, “this sweet treat of a cabaret will feature performers singing songs from roles in which they would not traditionally be cast.” ($10; Woodlawn Theater, 1920 Fredericksburg Rd., www.woodlawntheatre.org)