Arts Alive San Antonio

Lots of good music coming up!

The San Antonio Philharmonic is going to play one of our favorite symphonies: Mozart’s “Jupiter” Symphony, this Friday and Saturday. Why it was named “Jupiter” is not entirely clear, but the music is glorious and exuberant, the kind of music you surrender to.

Also on the program is contemporary composer Jessie Montgomery’s “Divided,” specifically written for cellist Thomas Mesa, who will be performing it, as well as “SEVEN,” which was composed for Mesa by fellow cellist Andrea Casarrubios. All of that, plus Haydn’ Symphony No. 95.  The orchestra will be conducted by guest conductor Andrew Grams. (Feb.17-18 at 7:30 p.m.; First Baptist Church of San Antonio, 515 McCullough Ave., 78215; tickets $30 – $65; 210-201-6006, sales@saphil.org, https://saphil.org)

More from SA Phil is coming our way next weekend, Feb. 24 & 25.

Camerata San Antonio continues its season with “CONTRASTS, which will be performed in three locations as is Camerata’s tradition. The concert is somewhat of a departure for the chamber ensemble because it features the clarinet, not usually included in their programs. In fact, Bela Bartok’s piece “Contrasts” was commissioned by Benny Goodman, and is the only chamber piece by Bartok that includes a woodwind instrument. In addition, the clarinet will also be featured in the last piece of the concert, Beethoven’s Trio for Clarinet, Cello & Piano, Op.38, which was an adaptation of the composer’s Septet in E-flat Major, arranged for clarinet, violin and piano. Ukrainian-born clarinetist, Ilya Shterenberg, the former principal clarinetist of the defunct San Antonio Symphony – will join violinist Matthew Zerweck, cellist Ken Freudigman and pianist Viktor Valkov for the occasion. (Feb. 17 at 4 p.m.; First Presbyterian Church, 800 Jefferson St., Kerrville; Deb. 18 at 3 p.m., Episcopal Church of the Holy Spirit, 11093 Bandera Rd., San Antonio, and Feb. 19 at 3 p.m., University of the incarnate Word, Bennack Concert Hall, 4301 Broadway, San Antonio; tickets $20, reserve at www.cameratasa.org or by calling

The reigning virtuoso of the violin, Itzhak Perlman, will once again cast a spell over his listeners, this time at the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts. He’s the kind of artist who gets invited by presidents to perform for visiting royalty. In fact, that actually happened when he was asked by President George W. Bush and his wife, to play for the visiting Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip in 2007. (Feb. 21 at 7:30 p.m.; Tobin Center, 100 Auditorium Circle; tickets start at $49.50, tickets@tobincenter.com or call 210-223-8624)

Barely a week or so after premiering the tango opera, “Maria de Buenos Aires,” Opera San Antonio is already promoting its next opera “Romeo and Juliet,” with an event at the McNay Museum, named
Valentine’s Revisited: Lecture & Performance, slated for Thursday. It will be an “exploration of the art and music inspired by Shakespeare’s tragedy, “Romeo and Juliet.” Two speakers, Annie Labatt, Ph.D.  and Kevin Salfen, Ph.D., will talk about the various ways the play has been interpreted in the performing and visual arts for centuries. That will be good preparation for OSA’s production of Gounod’s opera “Romeo and Juliet,” scheduled for March 30 and April 1. (Feb. 16 at 6:30 p.m.; with light refreshments before the presentation and performances.; free; guests will be encouraged to buy opera tickets.; McNay Museum, 6000 N. New Braunfels, 78209; more info www.mcnayart.org/event/valentines-revisited/)

“An Evening with JD Souther – All the Hits, Some of the Stories” will be a different kind of experience. The Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee, is “one of the most celebrated songwriters of his generation,” said Interview Magazine. His music connects jazz and big-band traditions with LA’s 70s golden age sounds. (Feb.16, Tobin Center, see address above; tickets start at $42.50, tickets@tobincenter.com or call 210-223-8624)

At the Empire Theater you can experience an immersive concert-style theater show that chronicles the “amazing journey” shared by the folk-rock duo, Simon & Garfunkel, featuring a live band performing all their hits, including “Mrs. Robinson,” “Cecilia’ and “Bridge Over Troubled Water.” (The Simon & Garfunkel Story, Feb. 16 at 7:30 p.m., Feb. 17 at 8 p.m., and Feb. 18 ay 2 and 8 p.m.; tickets $39.50-$230; vis Ticketmaster.)

The San Angelo trio of brothers, Los Lonely Boys, will bring their “Texican rock & roll” to the Aztec Theater, Friday, as part of their 2023 Texas tour. (Feb. 17 at 8 p.m.; Aztec Theater, 104 N. St. Mary’s St., 78205; tickets $30-$67 + fees)

Texas Public Radio and the Lonesome Rose are teaming up to present a couple of musicians at the Lonesome Rose Lounge Tuesday: Folk Uke and Nicky Diamonds. The former is the roots music project of the duo Amy Nelson and Cathy Guthrie, who are described as witty, hilarious and melodic. Nicky Diamonds is the new country project from Nick Long of Lonely Horse. We can’t tell you more than that. (Feb. 21 at 7 p.m., Lonesome Rose, 2114 St. Mary’s St., 78212; 210-455-0233, www.thelonesomerose.com

Now, for something truly different and spiritual – a concert to honor Santa Teresita performed by the Spanish ensemble Jesed Ministerio de Musica. Therese of Lisieux, also known as the Little Flower is being recognized by UNESCO on the occasion of the 150^th anniversary of her birth (1873-2023). To commemorate this anniversary and the special recognition that St. Therese has garnered, Little Flower Basilica and the Discalced Carmelite Friars have planned several special programs for the near future. This concert is one of them. (Feb. 18 at 7 p.m.; Basilica of the National Shrine of the Little Flower, 1715 N. Zarzamora St., 78201; 210-735-9126; 210-735-9126; www.littleflowerbasilica.org)

February is Rodeo time and music is part of the fun. Country music star, Keith Urban, will entertain audiences at the AT&T Center Saturday, Feb. 18, at noon and at 7:30 p.m.; tickets at www.sarodeo.com

There are some interesting choices on our stages right now.

The Overtime Theater is opening “Write What You Know,” a brand-new comedy written by Chip Bohle who worked on the script during the COVID-19 lockdown. The action is set in 1977 and centers on a Tony Award-winning playwright who has become an alcoholic, unable to produce new work. With advice from his best friend – and the “voice in his head” – he opts to write what he knows, which happens to be his group of friends. The Kentucky-based playwright has more than 50 credits as a playwright. (Feb. 17 – March 11, Fridays-Saturdays at 8 p.m., Sunday, Feb.26 at 3 p.m.; tickets $12-$18; Overtime Theater, 5409 Bandera Rd., #205; 210-557-7562, www.theovertimetheater.org.)

Jump-Start Performance Co. is again presenting its “Screaming into the Void; Facing the Storm” Festival of short plays. Company member, Holly Nanes, will stage another round of original works on “this ever-timely trope.” Nanes describes the theme thus: “… it’s about confronting and overcoming the difficulties and oppressions we experience in our lives – in all their forms…” The 2023 submissions include a range of genres, from drama to poetry, fringe and movement. More than a dozen writers have submitted their pieces. (Feb. 16-18 and Feb. 23-25; Jump-Start Theater, 710 Fredericksburg Rd., 78201; tickets $0 to $25 at www.jump-start.org and https://dojour.us/e/16457)

“Could You Please Look into the Camera” is a new work written by Mohammad Al Attar, and directed by Trinity professor Roberto Prestigiacomo. The play is based on interviews with young Syrians detained by the Assad regime, and explores the relationship between Nura, a filmmaker, and three young protesters recollecting their arrest and detention. According to the announcement, the play poses some important questions regarding art and ideology and the power of art to stimulate social change. (Friday-Saturdays, Feb.17-25 and a show at 2:30 p.m. Feb. 19; also Feb.22-23 at 7 p.m.; free but reservations required, https://bpt.me/5704414 or www.trinitytheatre.bpt.me

San Antonio’s premier professional gallery, Ruiz-Healy Art, is about to open a new exhibit – Alchemy: Works on Paper, packed with works by many of the best-known San Antonio Artists: Jesse Amado, Richard Armendariz, Cecilia Biagini, Margaret Craig, Gaby Collins-Fernandez, Andres Ferrandis, Pedro Friedeberg, Cisco Jimenez, Consuelo Jimenez Underwood, Leigh Anne Lester, Cesar A. Martinez, Kanako Namura, Lina Puerta and Ethel Shipton. You can’t miss this show! Ruiz Healy Art is one of only three dealers in Texas who are members of the International Fine Print Dealers Association, an organization that maintains the highest standards for works on paper. Alchemy artists work in a range of media, including collage, drawing, painting and printmaking. (Opens Feb. 22 at the Ruiz Healy Art, 201-A East Olmos Drive, 78212; 210-804-2219)

Should you find yourself at the San Antonio International Airport, you may see some really bright, vividly decorated benches. They are there as a special exhibition celebrating Black History Month. The Unseen Artists Bench Project, which is part of Centro San Antonio’s Art Everywhere Initiative, consists of benches decorated by African-American artists, on loan from the Eye of the Beholder Art Gallery & Studio. Ten artists worked on them: DElone Osby, Jocelyn van Taylor, Kwanzaa Edwards, Hailey Gearo, Swerve O’ Harold, Tyson Davis, Alain Gakwaya, Darryl Dunn, Asia Dodd and Jaden D. Blango. Visitors and travelers are invited to sit on the benches and enjoy the experience, The benches are in the Baggage Claim Area.

Speaking of Black History Month, Bihl Haus Arts is presenting a poetry reading with poet Sanseria Murray, in conjunction with artist Wardell Picquet’s exhibition “Essence and Style: The Afro Centric Woman,” which highlights the strength and power of Black women. A self-described “word nerd,” Murray is a poet, playwright, educator, and actor/director. She has also written an original gospel musical. (Fe. 18 at 2 p.m.; Bihl Haus Arts, 2803 Fredericksburg Rd., free; for info visit www.BihlHausArts.org)