News Roundup – Quarantine Concert Series, the Big Texas Read…
Maybe you already know that the San Antonio Airport has an arts program that enhances the visitors’ experience by exposing them to outstanding visual arts works in various media – sculpture, painting, murals, photography, installations, and more. As a traveler, you have probably seen at least some of them. In addition, live performances by local music groups also welcomed travelers until the COVID-19 crisis changed our lives and the way we do things.
But Arts & Culture manager Matt Evans has come up with a great idea to bring some music back and help San Antonio musicians make a little money during this stay-at-home period. He’s put together a terrific SAT Live Quarantine Concert Series to be streamed throughout April. There is something planned for every day and something for every taste: Texas blues, rock, country, Top 40s, jazz, soul, world music, classical guitar, songs of love, uplifting songs, etc. Some musicians are scheduled to play more than once.
The list of musicians and concert times and dates are here:
For classical music fans, the Cactus Pear Music Festival has a special treat: Frederic Chopin’s gorgeous Sonata in G Minor, Op 65, the one that Chopin premiered at his last concert on Feb.16 1848. According to program notes, he also requested to hear it when he was dying but listened only to a few measures. It’s composed for piano and cello, one of the most expressive instruments ever invented. To listen:
https://www.cpmf.us/musical-moments-5
The Public Theater of San Antonio is still providing interesting programming though in virtual form. This Saturday, April 18, at 7:30 p.m., you are invited to a reading of Robert Caisley’s “noir” comedy “More Better Beautiful” which opens with a woman waking up to find a stranger asleep on her couch. To make things worse, she can’t remember what happened the previous night. It’s about “the secrets we keep, the lies we tell, and the people who accept us in spite of our mistakes,” says the press release. Interested? We are! To register go to https://bit.ly/2QMLyN2. (A tax-deductible donation of $10 upon registration)
On Sunday, April 19, there will be another cabaret show in the Encore Lounge featuring Lauren Esquivel and special guest, guitarist John Paul Esquivel, who will present “Let’s Go to the Movies.” 7:30 p.m., Via Zoom. To register go to https://bit.ly/3eIUseF. ($5 tax-deductible donation)
The folks at URBAN-15 would like you to know that if you missed the Mega Corazon video streaming of poetry featuring the Who-Is-Who of San Antonio literature, you can still see it throughout April, which is National Poetry Month. It restreams every Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. and again from 8 p.m. – 12 a.m. CST. It’s free and you can watch on www.urban15.org.
Gemini Ink has partnered with its sister organization in Dallas, Writing Workshops Dallas, to launch
The Big Texas Read, a virtual book club for everyone interested in reading and Texas writers. The program was the brainchild of novelist David Samuel Levinson whose book “Tell Me How This Ends Well” is the first club selection. You can order the book, and all subsequent ones, from the Twig Book Shop or from Amazon. Authors will be available to chat with participants at regular intervals, starting with Levinson on April 29.
The idea behind the club is to engage literary-minded people in a community of readers since no actual gatherings are allowed at the moment. You get 1-2 months to get and read each book. The next two authors in the club’s lineup are North Texas mystery writer Kathleen Kent and Texas Poet Laureate Emmy Perez. “Our aim is to showcase different genres and the breadth of contemporary Texas writing,” wrote Gemini Ink’s executive director Alexandra Van De Kamp in an email. We assume that Gemini Ink and Writing Workshops Dallas are choosing the titles.
It sounds like a great idea to us. For more information and to participate in the first Zoom chat go to https://geminiink.org/the-big-texas-read/
Gemini Ink is also offering a special online workshop this weekend – Voices of Recovery Storytelling Workshop, a 2-day program during which the participants will be guided by professional writers “in crafting the story of their unique cancer journey.” Free and open to everyone who has been affected by cancer. Via Zoom; https://geminiink.org/events/voices-of-recovery-workshop/
And the class, The Encouraging Effects of Revision, for writers, is offered April 18-May 2, also online via Wetink. It will be taught by Aaron Deutsch. $75 (student), $115 for Gemini Ink members, $135 for non-members. https://geminiink.org/events/the-encouraging-effects-of-revision/
And here’s something that will make you laugh. Recorded at an Andre Rieu concert in 2015:
www.YouTube.com/watch?v=WVfrUj9gMBw
Great info for readers, writers, and folks missing their performing arts fix! Thank you for sharing all this in one place.