Arts Alive San Antonio

Lots of wonderful music is coming our way in the next few days.

To begin with, The San Antonio Chamber Choir, will present Threshold as part of the CARITAS Series founded earlier this year by Mary Ann Winden, with the support of the Sisters of the Incarnate Word Congregation. The program will feature two new works: “tse go la” by composer Andrea Clearfield, and “Christus” by San Antonio composer and organist Andrew Lloyd.

Clearfield’s piece, whose title means “At the Threshold of this Life” is a cantata inspired by her travels through the remote Himalayan regions of Nepal where she studied and recorded indigenous Tibetan music. According to the press announcement, the composition incorporates five songs of two common traditions.  The University of the Incarnate World student group, known as UIW Cardinal Singers, will also take part in the performance.

The multi-movement “Christus” is likely to be a highly inspirational composition which will also include the magnificent organ that the Chapel of the Incarnate Word installed in 2007. CARITAS founder, Mary Ann Winden, is an organist and beloved former music teacher in San Antonio. Both composers will be present opening night. Admission to these musical riches is free, which was one of Winden’s goals when she established the concert series. (Feb. 26 at 8 p.m. and Feb. 27 at 3 p.m.; Incarnate Word Motherhouse Chapel, on the UWI campus; free.)

The Cactus Pear Music Festival is presenting a special treat for San Antonio audiences on Feb. 27, and it’s a French treat! French treats are the best whether culinary or musical! The concert will feature CPMF’s departing artistic director, violinist, Stephanie Sant’Ambrogio, and the incoming artistic director, pianist, Ryo Yanagitani, who will be joined by cellist Holgen Gjoni, in an all-French program. Two female composers, Nadia Boulanger and Cecile Chaminade will open the music-making, to be followed by works of Gabriel Faure, Maurice Ravel and Claude Debussy. A treat indeed! (Trinity Baptist Church, 319 E. Mulberry Ave., 78212; 210-733-6201; free but registration required through Eventbrite:
www.eventbrite.com/cpmf-feb-27th-event

The musical voice of Claude Debussy will also be heard during the upcoming concert of The Heart of Texas Concert Band, also on Sunday. The all-volunteer ensemble will present “Talent Showcase 2022” featuring its music director Mark Rogers, associate director, John Goforth, and several soloists drawn from the ensemble. Guest composer & conductor Carol Brittin Chambers will “share” her “Song of the Fiords.” Other performers include Maleah Martin who will perform the Debussy piece; Wolfang Draving who will conduct “Shepherd’s Hey” by Percy Grainger, and others. The event will include the premiere of Richard Mayle’s “American Spirit.” (Feb. 27 at 3 p.m.; Taft Highschool, 11600 Culebra Rd, 78253; free, no tickets required)

On the theater front, the news is somewhat hopeful. A brand-new play by San Antonio playwright Rachelle Neuman is opening this weekend in the Cellar Theater at the Public Theater of San Antonio (San Pedro Playhouse). It is not a production of the Public. The producer is a recently founded company called Real Life Production. The play, titled “One Crak-Two Bam,” is inspired by the common practice of women getting together to play Mahjong with friends, and the ups and downs that may occur. It’s a comedy/drama. (Four performances: Feb. 25-26 at 7:30 p.m., and Feb. 27 at 2 and 7:30 p.m.; Cellar Theater, 800 W. Ashby; tickets are $25.63 at www.RealLifeProductions.org, 210-891-9678)

The Overtime Theater has extended its murder mystery improv show, “The Scriptless Sleuths,” for two additional weekends. Created by Michael Song, Dan Grimm, Alan Becker and Venny Mortimer, the show allows for audience suggestions that help shape the crime, the suspects and even inform the detectives. It sounds like fun! (Performances Fridays-Saturday through March 12; Overtime Theater, 5409 Bandera Rd., suite 205, on the city’s Northwest Side.; tickets $12 may be purchased at the door or at www.theovertimetheater.org; 210-577-7562)

The comedy musical “Tootsie” will be at the Majestic Theater, starting March 1. Both the script and the music creators – Robert Horn and David Yazbek, respectively – won Tonys. The story revolves around an actor who struggles to find work until “one show-stopping act of desperation lands him the role of a lifetime.” (March 1-6; Majestic Theater224 E. Houston; tickets $45 – $125; 210-226-3333; info@majesticempire.com)

A theater of solo comedy will be center stage at the Tobin Center when Tig Notaro’s Hello Again Tour stops there this Sunday. He is an Emmy and Grammy-nominated stand-up comedian and writer. You probably also know him from his many TV appearances. (Feb. 27 at 7 p.m.; Tobin Center for the Performing Arts; tickets $29.50 – $44.50; tickets@tobincenter.org, 210-223-8624)

The Jump-Start Performance Co. is holding auditions for its July 2022 show called “Senior Play.” Needed are actors who can play older people in their 60s and 70s, as well as one actor in his/her 20s or 30s. Auditions will be held this Sunday, Feb. 27, 2-5 p.m. at the theater, 710- Fredericksburg Rd. The company also wants you to know that “Screaming into the Void” festival has been postponed to March 4-5. www.jumpstart.org.

Ruby City has been kind of low-key for quite some time, though it has been open to the public and offers free admission. But we recently received information about a new exhibit at the contemporary art center which got its name from the red color of the building that houses it. The show is a solo exhibit of the work of Arturo Herrera, opening March 3. The Berlin-based artist’s work is described as “colorful and abstract. Herrera; Constructed Collage will feature more than 20 artworks from Ruby City’s permanent collection, including several recent acquisitions that will be displayed for the first time. The exhibition is curated by the center’s director Elyse Gonzales. (150 Camp St.; Thursday-Sunday, 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.; free admission; www.rubycity.org)

As you probably remember, the San Antonio Museum of Art’s significant new exhibit focuses on the work of Native American artist Wendy Red Star. To complement the exhibit, SAMA has organized a symposium titled “Contemporary Perspectives on Native American Art, which takes place this weekend. Wendy Red Star will be the virtual keynote speaker Friday, Feb. 25 at 6 p.m. The next day there will be a panel discussion on the topic featuring the following panelists: Joe Harjo, Dakota Hoska, Rosa Puleo and Ruben Olguin, with moderator Annette Portillo. (Feb. 26, 9 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.; in-person and live-streamed. To register go to www.samuseum.org/events)

Another interesting discussion will be taking place at the Witte Museum in connection with the exhibit Black Cowboys: An American Story. It will be led by board member Aaronetta Pierce who was instrumental in the organization of the exhibition. The panelists are Diana Ramey Berry, the chair of the history department at UT Austin and Ph.D. candidate and exhibit co-curator Ronald W. Davis. (Monday, Feb. 28, 6:30- 9 p.m. To reserve a seat call 210-357-1901; www.wittemuseum.org.)

Bihl Haus Art is presenting a new exhibit, “Texas TRIPtych,” featuring Texas river-themed work of Elizabeth Rodriguez.  Opening reception is scheduled for this Saturday, at 5:30 p.m. The exhibition, which was installed in conjunction with Contemporary Art Month and Women’s History Month, will be on view through April 2. (Bihl Haus Arts, 2803 Fredericksburg Rd.; 210-383-9723, www.bihlhausarts.org)

The VOICE DE LA LUNA literary organization that publishes the eponymous literature & art magazine also offers regular monthly poetry workshops, Elements of Poetry, with poet Dario Beniquez. The next one takes place March 3, from 6 to 8 p.m.  They are held every first Thursday of the month. For registration info go to www.facebook.com/VoicesDeLaLuna.

The city’s Arts & Culture Department is seeking a Film and Music Commissioner. Candidates must have experience in strategic planning and arts marketing that can support the film and music industries in the city. Candidates should apply by March 1 at 11:59 p.m.;  https://www.sanantonio.gov/HR/CareerCenter.aspx; 210-207-8705