News Roundup, May 1, 2025
The San Antonio Philharmonic will present its Classics IX concert this weekend, featuring the music of Brahms, Prokofiev and Peter Shin, a young Korean-American composer, whom the New York Times called “a composer to watch.” The program begins with “a bracing and viscerally emotional work” by Shin, titled “Slant.” Also on the program is Brahm’s “magnificent” Double Concerto for Violin and Cello in A minor, featuring two talented musicians – violinist Elena Urioste and cellist Zlatomir Fung. The evening culminates with the powerful Symphony No. 5 by Prokofiev, a work composed at the height of the Second World War and was intended as a “paean to the indomitable human spirit.” (May 2 at 7:30 p.m.; doors open at 6:30 p.m.; and May 3 at 12:30 p.m., show at 1:30 p.m.) both conducted by Jeffrey Kahane at the Scottish Rite Hall, 308 Ave. E, 78205. Tickets are $32-$111 https:www.majesticempire.com/events/sa-phil-classics-9/
Musical Bridges Around the World will present Invoke, “your not-so-typical string quartet,” which will bring an electrifying mix of bluegrass, Appalachian fiddle tunes, jazz and minimalism to the stage. The concert will feature music by Duke Ellington, Florence Price and William Grant Still, along with their original compositions. According to the press release it will be “an unforgettable concert experience.” (7 p.m. Sunday, May 11 at the San Fernando Cathedral, free but tickets required. Get them at www.eventbrite.com/invoke)
The AGARITA season continues with “Shimmers of Byzantium” featuring a world premiere by Ethan Wickman, and other works, including works by Franghiz Ali-Zadeh, Antonin Dvorak, Andrea Casarrubios, Johannes Brahms, Emmy Wegener and Richard Strauss. Performers are singers Tynan Davis and Megan Pachecano and organist Andrew Lloyd. (May 3 at 7:30 p.m.; The Chapel of the Incarnate Word, 100 Auditorium Circle, 78205; free and open to all)
St. Peter’s Friends of Music presents “Travelogue” every Thursday in May at 6 p.m. starting with the music of Italy. Here’s the schedule: May 1 – Italy; May 8 – France; May 15: Germany, Poland & Austria; May 22: Spain and Portugal; and May 29: The Americas. (St. Peter Prince of the Apostles Catholic Church; 111 Barilla Place, 78209; for info call 210-822-3367; free and open to the public)
The San Antonio Chamber Music Society is presenting the Isidore String Quartet, that includes talented young musicians: violinists Adrian Steel and Pheonix Avalon, violist Devin Moore, and cellist Joshua McClendon. (May 4 at 3:15 p.m.; Trinity Baptist Church, 319 E. Mulberry, 78212; $25; free for students & active military; for info call 210-408-1558; email@sacms.org)
Get the Led Out. This band has captured the essence of the recorded music of Led Zeppelin and brought it to the concert stage. The Philadelphia-based group consists of six veteran musicians, intent on delivering Led Zeppelin live, “like you have never heard before.” The band brings what the audience wants: a high energy Zeppelin concert “with an honest, heart-thumping intensity.
(May 2 at 7:30 p.m.; Tobin Center; $29.50, tickets@tobincenter.org)
The Olmos Ensemble’s 30th Anniversary Season concludes with two large-scale chamber works:
Richard Strauss’s symphonic tone poem “Don Quixote” arranged for a chamber ensemble, and Louis Sporhr’s iconic septet in A minor. A number of guest artists will join the group for this program. (May 5 at 7 p.m.; Shepherd King Lutheran Church, 303 West Ramsey Road, 78216; free; 210-344-5881; to reach the Olmos call 210-269-1925 or olmosensemble@gmail.com)
The Alamo City Dance Company and Alamo City Symphony Viva have a comedic ballet coming up, “Coppelia” a whimsical ballet where wedding day jitters, mistaken identities, and dancing dolls collide. This charming production takes center stage at Thiry Auditorium May 10, with performances at 2 and 7 p.m. With a joy-full score by Leo Delibes, a lively storytelling and colorful choreography “Coppelia” is one of the accessible ballets in the classical repertoire – perfect for children. (May 10 at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.; Thiry Auditorium, Our Lady of the Lake University; tickets at www.alamocityarts.org)
Visual arts are very lively in San Antonio and collage art is growing in popularity. You can explore collage art with Kaldric Dow. Learn how to combine portraits and patterns to create unique collages. Dow’s exhibit “Collaged Heirlooms” was shown at the Central Library in 2024. Each piece interwove intricate patterns and textures symbolizing the rich cultural heritage and collective memory of the African American community. (May 3 at 2 p.m.; San Antonio Public Library; 2 p.m. – 4 p.m.; free, Central Library, 600 Soledad; 210-207-2500; 210-207-2500;
You can see more of Dow’s work at https://www.kaldricdow.com/)
And, speaking of collage, there’s a World Collage Day, an annual, international celebration of collage on the second Saturday of May, initiated by Ric Kasini Kadour, the editor of Kolaj Magazine, in 2018. The day is to highlight the community of collage artists and remind the world what a spirit of cooperation, mutual support and creativity can look like.(A special event is planned for May 10, 1-6 p.m.; 136 Blue Star, 1414 S. Alamo St.,78210; for more info visit www.vikkyjones.com)
——————————————————————————————————————–