January/February 2015

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ON THE TOWN

January/February 2015

SA SA Rodeo Rodeo Brian Brian Russell Russell Strauss Strauss Festival Festival Kathy Kathy Armstrong Armstrong Jewish Jewish Film Film Festival Festival Danville Danville Chadbourne Chadbourne Bar Bar 414 414 at at The The Gunter Gunter Plus Plus 99 Additional Additional Articles Articles

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Features

January and February Rock ‘n Roll Us into the New Year: 2015 Starts with a Bang!

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Features Cont.

Kathy Armstrong: Director of Exhibitions at Southwest School of Art

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Strauss Festival Feeds the Appetite for Orchestral Variety

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Year of the Ram: Asian Festival at the 80 Institute of Texan Cultures

The Barshop Jewish Community Center’s Jewish Film Festival Focuses on Finding Identity

Fort Sam Houston Jazz Series

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San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo: A Perfect 10!

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Departments

A Movie Theater: More than just a place to see movies

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Culinaria Adds Second Restaurant Week: January 19-24

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Bar 414 at the Remodeled Gunter Hotel: 48 A Tribute to Robert Johnson Comfort-based Bending Branch Winery 52 at the Edge of Technology Danville Chadbourne: A Look into His Life 60 as a Full-time Sculptor

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Events Calendar

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Pinch Pennies & Dine Well: A Birthday 56 Bonanza of Culinary Gifts Random Thoughts: Nelson Rockefeller’s 68 Picassos Tapestries and On & Off Fredericksburg Road Book Talk: Brian Russell – Songwriter, 74 Producer, Author

Artistic Destination: Cultural Tourism 84 Shines Brightly in San Antonio Out & About With Greg Harrison

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Lair Creative, LLC would not knowingly publish misleading or erroneous information in editorial content or in any adv appear under any circumstances. Additionally, content in this electronic magazine does not necessarily reflect the view mances and exhibits, it is recommended that all times and dates of such events be confirmed by the reader prior to at

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Cover Credits Contributors Front Cover Photo: Chicago: The Musical Terra C. Macleod asVelma Kelly Photo by Paul Kolnik

Mikel Allen, creative director / graphic designer

Greg Harrison, staff photographer Aliyah Kuchinsky

James M. Benavides

Performing Arts Cover Photo © Mark Mcclare | Dreamstime.com

Olivier J. Bourgoin (aka, Olivier the Wine Guy)

Christian Lair, operations manager / webmaster

Events Calendar Cover Photo Kodo Drummers Courtesy Tobin Center for the Performing Arts

Julie Catalano

Culinary Arts Cover Photo © Bhofack2 | Dreamstime.com

Thomas Duhon

Visual Arts Cover Photo: Photo by Greg Harrison Literary Arts Cover Photo: © Surabky | Dreamstime.com Eclectics Cover Photo: Photo by Greg Harrison

Lora Clack Lisa Cruz

Vivienne Gautraux Dan R. Goddard

Kay Lair Veronica Luna Marlo Mason-Marie Ginger McAneerRobinson Susan A. Merkner, copy editor Angela Rabke Sara Selango Jasmina Wellinghoff

OnTheTownEzine.com is published by Lair Creative, LLC 14122 Red Maple San Antonio, Texas 78247 210-771-8486 210-490-7950 (fax)

vertisement in On The Town Ezine.com, nor does it assume responsibility if this type of editorial or advertising should ws or opinions of the management of Lair Creative, LLC. Since On The Town Ezine.com features information on perforttendance. The publisher assumes no responsibility for changes in times, dates, venues, exhibitions or performances.

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Performing Arts 8-24

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January and February rock ‘n roll us into classical music, opera, comedy and cirque pe

By Sara Salengo

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the new year with outstanding live theater, erformances. 2015 starts with a bang!

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et me start by saying I attended a performance of The Lion King at the Majestic in mid-December, and it was an amazing evening. Here’s the thing: You can still see it through Jan. 4. Happy New Year and you better hurry! Following The Lion King at the Majestic is Chicago: The Musical, the embodiment of Bob Fosse choreography, starring John O’Hurley of “Seinfeld” fame as the venerable Billy Flynn. Show dates are Jan. 27 to Feb. 1 with eight performances during its one-week stay.

Elvis Lives is a one-night-only resident of the Majestic stage Feb. 4, with Rain: A Tribute to the Beatles coming to town Feb. 14-15 at the same venue.

The Tobin Center for the Performing Arts offers its Signature Series of Broadway plays and musicals starting with One Drop of Love at Carlos Alvarez Studio Theatre Jan. 17, then Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story in the expansive H-E-B Performance Hall at the Tobin Feb. 3.

Jekyll and Hyde spends three nights on the same big stage Feb. 17-19. Also featured at the Tobin is 50 Shades: The Musical in a 10-performance run Feb.24 to March 1 at the Carlos Alvarez.

Other touring theatrical shows in January and February

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include Cirque du Soleil’s Varekai at Freeman Coliseum, Vocal Trash in Fredericksburg at the Kathleen C. Cailloux Theater, Kodo: One Earth Tour plus Peking Acrobats at the Tobin’s H-E-B Performance Hall and New Shanghai Circus at Boerne Champion Auditorium.

The San Antonio Symphony is busy in January and February presenting their Strauss Festival. The schedule includes programs titled Requiem, Don Juan, La Valse and Heldenleben over four successive weekends from Jan. 16 through Feb. 7. All performances are at the H-E-B Performance Hall at the Tobin and all feature Sebastian Lang-Lessing as conductor. Special guests are pianist Michael Dalberto, violinist Eric Gratz, violinist Daniel Hope and the San Antonio Symphony Mastersingers under the direction of John Silantien. In addition to these performances, a Discover Series concert, Till Eulenspiegel, will be played in late January at the Tobin with Lang-Lessing conducting this one as well. Next up on the classical front is a super-highlight: Itzhak Perlman in concert presented by the symphony and the Tobin Center Feb. 8 in the H-E-B Performance Hall. Just less than a month later, experience the piano virtuosity of Lang Lang March 2, also at the Tobin from the same two organizations.

In Strauss Festival-related programming, Camerata San Antonio contributes Chamber Music Masters Jan. 7 at the Carlos Alvarez and Musical Bridges Around the World offers Strauss and Golden Greece at San Fernando Cathedral Feb. 1. Musical Offerings plays Strauss at McNay’s Leeper Auditorium Feb. 8.

Regarding other classical news, violinist Nancy Zhou is featured Jan. 11 at Coker United Methodist as a part of The Arts @ Coker series, while New York Woodwind Quintet plays Temple Beth-El for the San Antonio Chamber Music Society Jan. 25. The society also presents St. Lawrence String Quartet Feb. 22 at the same venue. Pianist Simone Dinnerstein makes a special appearance at Laurel Heights Methodist on behalf of the Tuesday Musical Club Artist Series Jan. 27, and Mid-Texas Symphony Celebrates Sibelius Feb. 8 at Canyon Performing Arts Center in New Braunfels.

SAIPC Piano Series offers it inaugural performance of the season by Yejin Noh Feb. 21 at the Ingrid Seddon Recital Hall on the University of the Incarnate Word campus, while violinist Bella Hristova is featured one week later with the Victoria Symphony Orchestra just a few miles down the road.

SOLI Chamber Ensemble has dates at both the Carlos Alavarez and Trinity’s Ruth Taylor Recital Hall for Dance: Metamorphosis, Feb. 16 and 17, respectively. They follow up with an appearance for the First Fine Arts Series at First Baptist Feb. 22.

In addition to all of the above, some really big-name entertainers are on the January-February entertainment calendar, starting with a bunch at the Majestic. ZZ Top is on their list, as is Michael W. Smith, the Christian music icon. Alice Cooper, Johnny Mathis, Celtic Thunder, Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, Steve Miller Band and Sarah McLachlan complete the lineup. The next door Empire offers patrons the opportunity to see Rick Springfield, Kat Edmondson and funny man Jim Breuer.

Biggies at the Tobin in the first two months of 2015 include Branford Marsalis, Arlo Guthrie, and comedians Kathleen Madigan, Lisa Lampanelli and Chris Tucker.

On the subject of comedy, Gabriel “Fluffy” Iglesias, Ralphie May, Norm McDonald, Tommy Davidson and Paul Rodriguez are scheduled in January and February at Laugh Out Loud Comedy Club. Check their website for details.

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Other noteworthy performances to mention are Vjay Iyer, Billy Strayhorn Centennial Concert and Complexions Contemporary Ballet at the Carver, the Oak Ridge Boys at the Brauntex in New Braunfels, Canadian Brass at Champions Auditorium in Boerne, Wilson Phillips with the Victoria Symphony Orchestra in Victoria, Buddy Guy, Maya Beiser with Glenn Kotche and Louise Harrison’s Liverpool Legends at the Aztec, Fort Sam Houston Jazz Series with Lee Ritenour and Elan Trotman at Fort Sam Houston Theater, and the list goes on and on.

I would like to close with what I think will be two spectacular performances. First up is Patricia Racette as Salome in the Richard Strauss opera of the same name on stage at the Tobin Center’s H-E-B Performance Hall Jan. 8 and 11.

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From Opera San Antonio, Salomé Itzhak Perlman marks a new beginning for opera in Photo by Lisa Marie Mazzucco the city. The second to mention is Ballet San Antonio’s Romeo & Juliet John O’Hurley as Billy Flynn at the Tobin Feb. 13-15. from Chicago on tour Courtesy Majestic Theatre January and February have so much to offer. Get some tickets and go!

Patricia Racette Photo by Devon Cass

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Page 12 (L-R) Pages 8-9 Terra C. Macleod as Velma Kelly Brandford Marsalis and the ensemble from Chicago Courtesy of the Tobin Center on tour for the Performing Arts Photo by Paul Kolnik Pages 10-11 (L-R) Jekyll & Hyde Courtesy of the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts

One Drop of Love Courtesy of the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts

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STRAUSS FESTIVAL feeds the appetite for orchestral variety

By Lisa Cruz

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f one of your New Year’s resolutions includes nothing old about it; Salomé has held its edge,” adding a little boldness and excitement to Picker said. your year, the San Antonio Symphony’s Richard Strauss Festival may be a good way to kick off 2015. San Antonio Symphony music director Sebastian Lang-Lessing explained that, for the orchestra, Opening this year’s festival, the Symphony will be Salomé is an extremely challenging piece but part of Opera San Antonio’s presentation of Strauss’s very rewarding. most controversial opera, Salomé, on January 8 and 11. This production is the first fully-staged, grand “It is one of Strauss’s most controversial and opera production with the orchestra in the Tobin influential works, as it changed the way we look at Center HEB Performance Hall’s orchestra pit. opera,” Lang-Lessing said. “It is a premiere choice to start the festival.”

“We never have had a theatre in which we could do that before,” said Tobias Picker, Opera San Antonio’s Strauss was a German composer in the late 19th, artistic director. “Salomé seemed to be a daring and early 20th century who has close ties to the San exciting choice for our first fully staged production Antonio Symphony, according Lang-Lessing, who at the Tobin.” said Strauss premiered many of his pieces in the Alamo city.

Audiences will have an opportunity to be a part of opera history, as this performance of Salomé will “This is one way to honor the founders of the also be soprano Patricia Racette’s operatic role orchestra as part of our 75th anniversary season,” debut as Salomé and includes role debuts for much Lang-Lessing said. “While Strauss is not as familiar of the cast. a composer to the general audience, he has a strong history with the San Antonio Symphony and Salomé was daughter of Herod II and Herodias. In pushes the orchestra to a completely new level. the opera, Salomé becomes obsessed with John We are going way out of the comfort zone, but the the Baptist, who has been imprisoned by Herod II. musicians very much enjoy that challenge.”

When John the Baptist denies her affections, she performs the dance of the seven veils, which leads In addition to Opera San Antonio’s presentation of to his execution.

Salomé, the Symphony is partnering with artistic groups from across the city to present a wide array Picker adds that while its premier 100 years ago of musical offerings, including chamber music incited riots, Salomé remains controversial a by Camerata, a presentation of Mozart’s Requiem century later. with the Mastersingers, Musical Offerings, the San Antonio Metropolitan Ballet, the San Antonio “It’s a very intense and serious subject matter, Choral Society, Youth Orchestras of San Antonio and while it is acknowledged as a classic, there is and many more.

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While previous festivals have focused on the music and the audience.” of an individual composer, Lang-Lessing said this year’s choice to feature works by other composers For more information on the entire Strauss Festival of influence on and by Strauss is by design. series, visit http://strausssa.org/.

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“I think it puts Strauss in perspective of his contemporaries and adds to the understanding of this composer,” Lang-Lessing said. “For example, the Photo Credits: Ravel Strauss connection may not be so obvious, but they have in common a love of waltz and the Page 14 same fascination with orchestral exuberance.”

Sebastian Lang-Lessing In addition to the works of artists in relationship Courtesy San Antonio Symphony to Strauss, the Symphony has added the world premiere of 4 new compositions in its American Page 16 (L-R) Preludes series.

Patricia Racette “It’s a wonderful journey to be able to offer such Photo by Devon Cass diversity in the series,” Lang-Lessing said. “It’s not just a schnitzel and a good potato salad but a full Michael Dalberto palate of flavors for both the orchestra musicians Courtesy San Antonio Symphony 16 On The Town | January/February 2015

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Big Bad Wolves

THE BARSHOP JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER’S

JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL FOCUSES ON FINDING IDENTITY

By Aliyah Kuchinsky

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he Barshop Jewish Community Center’s Jewish Film Festival, approaching its 14th run, has a 13-person selection committee with a mission to “promote Jewish values and diversity among all people through the medium of film,” and to “entertain, educate, and raise community awareness of Jewish identity, history, and culture.”

selected. Perhaps inadver tently, but obvious just the same, a common theme has sur faced this year: films that focus on identity.

The lineup opens with the lighthear ted Cupcakes, a film in which a group of friends, including a former beauty queen, a successful baker, a shy blogger, and a cross-dressing nurser y With such a mission in mind, the screening school teacher, enter a talent show and end up committee considered well over 50 films for discovering themselves along the way. the 10-film lineup. Attributes of each contender were carefully dissected, from the merits of the The thriller, Big Bad Wolves, chronicles a series of film’s Jewish content to the countr y of origin, brutal murders which puts the lives of strangers and even the potential box-office consequences on a collision course. The father of one victim, now of selecting a film with so much eye -covering- out for revenge, commits brutal acts outside of wor thy on-screen violence that multiple his true character, and a vigilante police detective committee members left the screening room. operates outside the boundaries of law. With the Through intense discussion and a few rounds tagline, “Some men are created evil,” the viewer is of elimination, a curated lineup of films was sure to be left wondering about the company we 18 On The Town | January/February 2015

Dancing Arabs keep and how well we know those closest to us.

In keeping with the theme of character identity, the festival will close with Dancing Arabs, a film about a young Arab in Israel who struggles to find his place and himself. It is a relatable coming-of-age stor y.

BARSHOP JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER PRESENTS THE14TH ANNUAL JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL February 7-11, 2015 Santikos Embassy 14 13707 Embassy Row | Bitters at 281

Film Screening Schedule: The diverse characters who star in the lineup Saturday, February 7 of films this year bring intriguing stories of 8pm - Cupcakes finding one’s identity to the big screen for the Sunday, February 8 viewer ’s entertainment, thereby accomplishing 2pm - Above & Beyond: The Birth of the Israeli Air Force the mission of the Jewish Film Festival to “raise 5pm The Best of Men community awareness of Jewish identity.” How we 7:30pm Big Bad Wolves identify ourselves is a series of choices, perhaps shaped both by nature and nurture. For certain, Monday, February 9 though, patrons, whether Jewish in faith or not, 5pm Bethlehem will discover that with the universal themes 7:30pm The Green Prince portrayed, we all can identify with one another.

Tuesday, February 10 5pm 24 Days The Jewish Film Festival runs Feb. 7-11. Visit 7:30pm For a Woman www.jccsanantonio.org/filmfestival for film trailers, reviews and synopses, or to purchase Wednesday, February 11 tickets. Individual and festival pack tickets will 5pm God’s Slave be available for purchase beginning Jan. 5.

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Fort Sam Houston Jazz Series: Army Entertainment brings 5 shows to Fort Sam Houston Theater in 2015

By Lora Clack

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eveloped in the late 19th century, jazz is characterized by improvisation, forceful rhythm and a melding of sounds from all genres of music in particular ragtime, blues and swing. Ask any jazz lover and he or she will tell you that jazz is more than music and art; it’s a cultural phenomenon with a rich legacy in America. With roots in New Orleans, it’s no wonder it has the distinction of bringing together people from different and various backgrounds that share one common thread—a soul for music.

That thread has made its way to San Antonio by way of Army Entertainment for 2015. Some of the hottest names in jazz will once again make their way to the Fort Sam Houston Theater for performances that will leave you mesmerized by the combinations of melodies, rhythms and beats.

take the stage to ignite that passion that lies in all jazz enthusiasts. The passion you get when the saxophone flirts with you and the trumpet speaks to your soul. Eric Clapton once said blues is when wisdom begins to speak.

Jazz must be me when it sings!

For more information, including ticket prices and specific dates, contact www.outhousetickets.com. Jazz Series open to all DOD cardholders and their guests.

Lee Ritenour

Army Entertainment has been hosting a jazz series for the past three years in San Antonio. With a small and faithful following of mainly military personnel, it is slowly becoming a contender in the jazz circuit. One doesn’t normally associate Fort Sam Houston with an eclectic crowd of jazz patrons! However, Fort Sam Houston Theater attracts major headliners that mimic notorious and legendary spots like Yoshi’s, Catalina, Dizzy’s Club and The Hideout to name a few. Having a regular jazz series in a city known for its magical river walk, beautiful people and rich in tradition is a match made in the art’s heaven. The greats would be proud! From the eclectic to the sophisticated, jazz greats will make their way to the Alamo city to deliver explosive performances.

Kicking off this five show series on January 23rd is Grammy award winner Lee Ritenour and the hot sounds of Barbados born saxophonist Elan Trotman.

Over the course of the next 11 months, Fort Sam Houston will deliver top artists like Rick Braun, Steve Cole, Marc Antoine, Joe McBride, Althea Rene, Paul Taylor and Euge Groove.

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A MOVIE THEATER: More than just a place to see movies.

By Bill Brantley

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tep right up to the concession stand and get your popcorn, soft drink and maybe a candy bar too, then venture on over to screen 7 and see an opera. That sounds strange, but it’s true. Fathom Events brings the entire Metropolitan Opera season to a few theaters near you. In January experience The Merry Widow and Les Contes d’Hoffman. February offers opera-lovers Iolanta / Bluebeard’s Castle while March features La Donna del Lago, both direct from the Met stage to the big screen via satellite.

has Of Mice and Men followed by John in February and Treasure Island in March. Stratford Festival HD adds to the cultural experience with the Shakespeare tragedy King Lear, on-screen in late February.

The array of programming now available at theaters, other than movies, doesn’t stop with these genres.

Broadway musicals such as Rent, Memphis and the 25th Anniversary of Phantom of the Opera at Royal Albert Hall have been shown in the past, as have plays like Streetcar Named Desire. Concerts, both pop and classical, sporting Ballet is also on the Fathom schedule. The Bolshoi events, even Cirque du Soleil performances have also Ballet’s Swan Lake makes a cinematic appearance in gone from their live settings to satellite to screen. You late January and their Romeo & Juliet is in the que for can easily keep track of the goings on by simply visiting early March. The Royal Ballet’s The Winter’s Tale arrives the various theater websites. mid-February and their interpretation of Swan Lake is projected for mid-March.

Local cinemas that have been known to participate in the showing of these kinds of special events include Santikos These days, a movie theater is more than just a place Theatre’s Bijou and Rialto, Cinemark’s McCreless Market to see movies. As a matter of fact, to take things a step and Regal’s Huebner Oaks 14 and Cielo Vista 18. further, The National Theatre Live brings the best of British theatre broadcasts to cinemas around the world, and of Movie theaters now have more to offer than movies. See course that includes here in our own back yard. January a special event soon!

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© Mihaperosa | Dreamstime.com

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Events Calendar 26-44

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January/February 2015 Events Calendar Music Notes Marcia Ball 1/2, Fri @ 7pm Aztec Theatre Cody Jinks 1/2, Fri @ 8pm Gruene Hall Max Stalling 1/3, Sat @ 9pm Gruene Hall Camerata San Antonio Strauss Festival: Chamber Music Masters 1/7, Wed @ 7:30pm Carlos Alvarez Studio Theater Tobin Center for the Performing Arts British Rock Royalty 1/9, Fri @ 8pm Aztec Theatre

Roy Rogers, Jr. with the Diamond W Wranglers 1/10, Sat @ 7:30pm Brauntex Performing Arts Theatre New Braunfels Shine On! The Pink Floyd Experience 1/10, Sat @ 8pm Aztec Theatre Cody Johnson 1/10, Sat @ 9pm Gruene Hall Nancy Zhou, violin The Arts @ Coker 1/11, Sun @ 3pm Coker United Methodist The Spirit of Michael A Live Concert Tribute 1/11, Sun @ 7pm Aztec Theatre

Copperleaf Quintet: Chanconetas 1/13, Tue @ 6:30pm Symphony of the Hills 2015 Pops – 20th Century San Antonio Museum of Art Hits 1/10, Sat @ 7:30pm Singing Men of Dr. Jay Dunahoo, South Texas conductor First Fine Arts Series Kathleen C. Cailloux 1/15, Thu @ 7pm Theater First Baptist Church Kerrville

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Liverpool Legends 1/15-16, Thu-Fri @ 7pm Rockbox Theater Fredericksburg The Texas Jamm Band (featuring members of George Strait’s Ace in the Hole Band) 1/16, Fri @ 9pm John T. Floore Country Store San Antonio Symphony Strauss Festival: Requiem 1/16-17, Fri-Sat @ 8pm Sebastian Lang-Lessing, conductor San Antonio Symphony Mastersingers H-E-B Performance Hall Tobin Center for the Performing Arts Liverpool Legends 1/17, Sat @ 8pm Aztec Theatre Vijay Iyer 1/17, Sat @ 8pm Jo Long Theatre @ The Carver Reckless Kelly 1/17, Sat @ 9pm Gruene Hall

ZZ Top 1/17-18, Sat-Sun @ 8pm Majestic Theatre Jake Penrod and the Honky Tonk Express 1/17, Sat @ 8pm Anhalt Hall Spring Branch Jon Wolfe 1/17, Sat @ 9pm John T. Floore Country Store Cory Morrow & Doug Moreland 1/17, Sat @ 9pm Luckenbach Dance Hall San Antonio Symphony 1/18, Sun @ 3pm Laurie Auditorium @ Trinity University Doug Montgomery, piano Fredericksburg Music Club 1/18, Sun @ 3pm Fredericksburg United Methodist Patrick Scott, organ Music at St. Mark’s 1/18, Sun @ 5pm St. Mark’s Episcopal

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In The Mood 1/19, Mon @ 2pm & 7:30pm Lila Cockrell Theatre

Bob Schneider 1/23, Fri @ 9pm John T. Floore Country Store

Melody Rich, soprano 1/20, Tue @ 7:30pm Recital Hall UTSA Main Campus

8th Annual Luckenbach Blues Festival 1/24, Sat / 12pm-11pm Luckenbach Dance Hall

Maya Beiser with Glenn Kotche Arts San Antonio Presentation 1/22, Thu @ 7:30pm Aztec Theatre

Wilson Phillips Presented by Victoria Symphony Orchestra 1/24, Sat @ 7:30pm Victoria Fine Arts Center Victoria

Tribute to Johnny Cash

by Bret Graham 1/22, Thu @ 7:30pm Brauntex Performing Arts Theater New Braunfels The Oak Ridge Boys 1/23, Fri @ 7:30pm Brauntex Performing Arts Theatre New Braunfels

Tribute to Hank Williams

by David Church 1/24, Sat @ 7:30pm Kathleen C. Cailloux Theater Kerrville

Big Head Todd & The Monsters 1/29, Thu @ 6:30pm Aztec Theatre Canadian Brass Boerne Performing Arts 1/30, Fri @ 7:30pm Boerne Champion Auditorium San Antonio Symphony Strauss Festival: La Valse 1/30-31, Fri-Sat @ 8pm Sebastian Lang-Lessing, conductor Michael Dalberto, piano H-E-B Performance Hall Tobin Center for the Performing Arts

Whiskey Myers 1/24, Sat @ 9pm Gruene Hall

Cory Morrow 1/31, Sat @ 9pm Gruene Hall

2015 Fort Sam Houston Jazz Series Lee Ritenour & Elan Trotman 1/23, Fri @ 8pm (doors @ 7pm) Fort Sam Houston Theater

New York Woodwind Quintet San Antonio Chamber Music Society 1/25, Sun @ 3:15pm Temple Beth-El

Jason Boland and The Stragglers 1/31, Sat @ 9pm John T. Floore Country Store

San Antonio Symphony Strauss Festival: Don Juan 1/23-24, Fri-Sat @ 8pm Sebastian Lang-Lessing, conductor Daniel Hope, violin H-E-B Performance Hall Tobin Center for the Performing Arts

Simone Dinnerstein, piano Tuesday Muscial Club 1/27, Tue @ 2pm Laurel Heights United Methodist

Musical Bridges Around The World Presents Musical Evenings at San Fernando Cathedral: Strauss & Golden Greece with Canellakis-Brown Duo 2/1, Sun @ 6:30pm

Tesla 1/27, Tue @ 7pm Aztec Theatre

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Kate Campbell Encore Performing Arts Series Texas State University 2/5, Thu @ 7:30pm Price Senior Center San Marcos Michael W. Smith: The Sovereign Tour with special guest Nathan Tasker 2/5, Thu @ 7:30pm Majestic Theatre San Antonio Symphony Strauss Festival: Ein Heldenleben 2/6-7, Fri-Sat @ 8pm Sebastian Lang-Lessing, conductor Eric Gratz, violin H-E-B Performance Hall Tobin Center for the Performing Arts Rick Springfield: Stripped Down 2/7, Sat @ 8pm Charline McCombs Empire Theatre Musical Offerings Strauss Festival 2/8, Sun @ 2:30pm Leeper Auditorium McNay Art Museum Night in New Orleans Cailloux Performance Series 2/8, Sun @ 3pm Kathleen C. Cailloux Theater Kerrville

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Mid-Texas Symphony Celebrate Sibelius 2/8, Sun @ 4pm David Mairs, conductor Canyon HS Performing Arts Center New Braunfels Billy Strayhorn Centennial Concert 2/8, Sun @ 6pm Jo Long Theatre @ The Carver Itzhak Perlman: Presented by the San Antonio Symphony and Tobin Center for the Performing Arts 2/8, Sun @ 7pm H-E-B Performance Hall Tobin Center for the Performing Arts Heart of Texas Concert Band The Music of Claude T. Smith 2/10, Tue @ 7pm Dr. Mark Rogers, conductor McAllister Auditorium San Antonio College Alice Cooper 2/11, Wed @ 8pm Majestic Theatre Johnny Mathis 2/12, Thu @ 8pm Majestic Theatre

San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo 2/12, Thu @ 7pm Joe Nichols 2/13, Fri @ 7:30pm Hunter Hayes 2/14, Sat @ 1pm & 7:30pm Keith Urban 2/15, Sun @ 1pm Pentatonix 2/16, Mon @ 7pm John Legend 2/17, Tue @ 7pm Newsboys 2/18, Wed @ 7pm Cole Swindell 2/19, Thu @ 7pm Brad Paisley 2/20, Fri @ 7:30pm Eli Young Band 2/21, Sat @ 1pm Dan & Shay 2/21, Sat @ 7:30pm Little Big Town 2/22, Sun @ 1pm Easton Corbin 2/22, Sun @ 7:30pm Banda Los Recoditos 2/23, Mon @ 7pm Reba McEntire 2/24, Tue @ 7pm Justin Moore 2/25, Wed @ 7pm Billy Currington 2/26, Thu @ 7pm Jeff Foxworthy 2/27, Fri @ 7:30pm Styx 2/28, Sat @ 1pm Josh Abbott Band 2/28, Sat @ 7:30pm Lee Brice AT&T Center

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The Very Best of Celtic Thunder 2/13, Fri @ 8pm Majestic Theatre Dale Watson 2/13, Fri @ 8pm Luckenbach Dance Hall Valentine’s with the 3 Redneck Tenors 2/14, Sat @ 7:30pm Brauntex Performing Arts Theatre New Braunfels San Antonio Chamber Choir A Valentine’s Day in 3D: Dessert, Desire and Drama 2/14, Sat @ 7:30pm The Spire at Sunset Station Kat Edmonson 2/14, Sat @ 8pm Charline McCombs Empire Theatre Valentines Ball with Asleep at the Wheel 2/14, Sat @ 9pm Luckenbach Dance Hall San Antonio Choral Society My Jazzy Valentine 2/14-15, Sat @ 8:30pm Sun @ 3pm Carlos Alvarez Studio Theater Tobin Center for the Performing Arts

Gli Unici, tenors Special Valentines Concert Fredericksburg Music Club 2/15, Sun @ 3pm Fredericksburg United Methodist Simplemente Lara 2/15, Sun @ 3pm Jo Long Theatre @ The Carver Al Travis First Fine Arts Series 2/15, Sun @ 6pm First Baptist Church Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons 2/16, Mon @ 7:30pm Majestic Theatre SOLI Chamber Ensemble Dance: Metamorphosis 2/16, Fri @ 7:30pm Carlos Alavarez Studio Theater Tobin Center for the Performing Arts 2/17, Tue @ 7:30pm Ruth Taylor Recital Hall Trinity University Fat Tuesday with Alex Meixner and Special Guests 2/17, Tue @ 7:30pm Brauntex Performing Arts Theatre New Braunfels

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7 Bridges Eagles Tribute 2/18-19, Wed-Thu @ 7pm Rockbox Theater Fredericksburg Shakey Graves (Alejandro Rose-Garcia) 2/20, Fri @ 8pm Gruene Hall Valentines Super Love Jam – Chi-Lites, Manhattans, Evelyn Champagne King, Deniece Williams and more 2/21, Sat @ 7:30pm Illusions Theater at The Alamodome Yejin Noh SAIPC Piano Series 2/21, Sat @ 8pm Ingrid Seddon Recital Hall University of the Incarnate Word Robert Earl Keen 2/21, Sat @ 8pm Kathleen C. Cailloux Theater Kerrville Billy Mata and Texas Tradition 2/21, Sat @ 8pm Anhalt Hall Spring Branch Hayes Carll 2/21, Sat @ 9pm Gruene Hall SOLI Chamber Ensemble First Fine Arts Series 2/22, Sun @ 3pm First Baptist Church

Copperleaf Quintet: Hear My Prayer 2/22, Sun @ 3pm Chapel of the Incarnate Word St. Lawrencew String Quartet San Antonio Chamber Music Society 2/22, Sun @ 3:15pm Temple Beth-El Leonard Bernstein: Mass with special guest Children’s Chorus of San Antonio Music at St. Mark’s 2/22, Sun @ 5pm St. Mark’s Episcopal Branford Marsalis with Youth Orchestra of San Antonio 2/22, Sun @ 7pm H-E-B Performance Hall Tobin Center for the Performing Arts Steve Miller Band 2/22, Sun @ 7:30pm Majestic Theatre Jae Ha, organ First Fine Arts Series 2/24, Tue @ 12pm First Baptist Church Margo Garrett, piano International Concert Series 2/24, Tue @ 7:30pm Performing Arts Center Recital Hall Texas State University San Marcos

32 On The Town | January/February 2015

The Australian Bee Gees: A Multi-Media Tribute Concert 2/25, Wed @ 7:30pm H-E-B Performance Hall Tobin Center for the Performing Arts Arlo Guthrie Alice’s Restaurant 50th Anniversary 2/26, Thu @ 7:30pm H-E-B Performance Hall Tobin Center for the Performing Arts Symphony of the Hills True Romance Dr. Jay Dunahoo, conductor 2/26, Thu @ 7:30pm Kathleen C. Cailloux Theater Kerrville Tribute to Heart

by The Groove Hounds featuring Yesenia McNett 2/26, Thu @ 7:30pm Brauntex Performing Arts Theater New Braunfels Sarah McLachlan 2/27, Fri @ 8pm Majestic Theatre The Wood Brothers 2/27, Fri @ 8pm Gruene Hall Victoria Symphony Orchestra Master Series 4 2/28, Sat @ 7:30pm Darryl One, conducor Bella Hristova, violin Victoria Fine Arts Center Victoria

Nashville Nights with Scott & Emily Reeves 2/28, Sat @ 3pm Laugh Out Loud Comedy Club Paul Thorn Band 2/28, Sat @ 9pm Gruene Hall

Live Theatre Disney Presents The Lion King (touring) North Park Lexus Broadway in San Antonio 1/2-4, Fri-Sat @ 2pm & 8pm Sun @ 1pm Majestic Theatre Vocal Trash Cailloux Performance Series 1/11, Sun @ 3pm Kathleen C. Cailloux Theater Kerrville Echo 1/15-2/14, Thu-Sat @ 8pm Sun @ 7pm Greg Barrios Theater @ The Overtime Theater The Murder Room 1/15-2/28, Thu-Sat @ 8pm (Dinner @ 6:15pm) Harlequin Dinner Theatre One Drop of Love (touring) 1/17, Sat @ 2pm & 8pm Carlos Alvarez Studio Theater Tobin Center for the Performing Arts

January/February 2015 | On The Town 33

The Last Five Years 1/23-2/15, Fri-Sat @ 8pm Sun @ 3pm Cellar Theatre @ Playhouse San Antonio Chicago: The Musical (touring) North Park Lexus Broadway in San Antonio 1/27-2/1, Tue-Fri @ 7:30pm Sat @ 2pm & 8pm Sun @ 2pm & 7:30pm Majestic Theatre True West Presented by Attic Rep 1/28-2/8, Tue-Sat @ 8pm Sun @ 2:30pm Carlos Alvarez Studio Theater Tobin Center for the Performing Arts In One Take 1/30-2/28, Thu-Sat @ 8pm Sun @ 7pm The Little Overtime Theater Hairspray: The Musical 1/31-3/1, Fri-Sat @ 8pm Sun @ 4pm Cameo Theatre Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story (touring) 2/3, Tue @ 7:30pm H-E-B Performance Hall Tobin Center for the Performing Arts Elvis Lives! (touring) 2/4, Wed @ 7:30pm Majestic Theatre

Cirque du Soleil: Varekai (touring) 2/4-8, Wed-Fri @ 7:30pm Sat @ 4pm & 7:30pm Sun @ 1:30pm & 5pm Freeman Coliseum Talley’s Folly 2/5-3/1, Thu @ 7:30pm Sat @ 8pm, Sun @ 2:30pm (no shows on Friday) Sheldon Vexler Theatre @ Barshop Jewish Community Center Suite Surender: A Farce 2/6-8, Fri-Sat @ 7:30pm Sun @ 2pm 2/1-21, Fri-Sun @ 7:30pm Elizabeth Huth Coates Indoor Theatre Hill Country Arts Foundation Ingram

The Addams Family 2/13-3/15, Fri-Sat @ 7:30pm Sun @ 3pm* (*except Sun, 2/22 which is Industry Night @ 7:30pm) Woodlawn Theatre Rain: A Tribute to the Beatles (touring) 2/14-15, Sat @ 2pm & 8pm Sun @ 2pm Majestic Theatre Jekyll & Hyde (touring) 2/17-19, Tue-Thu @ 7:30pm H-E-B Performance Hall Tobin Center for the Performing Arts Kodo: One Earth Tour – Mystery 2/20, Fri @ 8pm H-E-B Performance Hall Tobin Center for the Performing Arts

The Great American Trailer Park Musical 2/6-28, Fri-Sat @ 8pm Sun @ 2pm Circle Arts Theatre New Braunfels

Fiddler on the Roof Fredericksburg Theater Company 2/20-3/8, Sat @ 8pm Sun @ 2pm Steve W. Shepherd Theater Fredericksburg

Gypsy 2/6-3/8, Fri-Sat @ 8pm Sun @ 3pm Russell Hill Rogers Theatre @ Playhouse San Antonio

50 Shades!

The Musical Parody (touring) 2/24-3/1, Tue-Thu @ 7:30pm Fri @ 7:30pm & 10pm Sat @ 2pm, 5pm & 8pm Sun @ 2pm & 6:30pm H-E-B Performance Hall Tobin Center for the Performing Arts

Merchant of Venice 2/13-3/1, Thu-Sat @ 8pm Sun @ 3pm The Classic Theatre of San Antonio

34 On The Town | January/February 2015

New Shanghai Circus Boerne Performing Arts 2/26, Thu @ 7:30pm Boerne Champion Auditorium The Peking Acrobats Arts San Antonio and Tobin Center Presentation 2/27, Fri @ 7:30pm H-E-B Performance Hall Tobin Center for the Performing Arts The Last Romance 2/27-3/14, Thu @ 7:30pm Fri-Sat @ 8pm Sun @ 2:30pm Boerne Community Theatre GLAAD to Know You 2/27-3/28, Thu-Sat @ 8pm Sun @ 7pm Greg Barrios Theater @ The Overtime Theater Wait Until Dark 2/27-3/22, Fri-Sat @ 7:30pm Sun @ 2:30pm The Wimberley Players

Opera Opera San Antonio Salomé 1/8 & 11, Thu @ 7:30pm Sun @ 2pm H-E-B Performance Hall Tobin Center for the Performing Arts

Opera Piccola of San Antonio Dido & Aeneas 2/21-22, Sat @ 8pm Sun @ 2:30pm Charline McCombs Empire Theatre

Dance A’lante Flamenco: Prophecies 1/10-11, Sat @ 8pm Sun @ 3pm Carlos Alvarez Studio Theater Tobin Center for the Performing Arts Ballroom with a Twist 1/13, Tue @ 7:30pm H-E-B Performance Hall Tobin Center for the Performing Arts Paul Taylor Dance Company Arts San Antonio Presentation 2/10, Tue @ 7:30pm Majestic Theatre Ballet San Antonio Romeo and Juliet 2/12-15, Thu-Fri @ 8pm Sat @ 2pm & 8pm Sun @ 2pm H-E-B Performance Hall Tobin Center for the Performing Arts

Carver Presents Complexions Contemporary Ballet 2/21, Sat @ 8pm Jo Long Theatre @ The Carver

Comedy Alex Reymundo 1/1-4, Thu-Sat @ 8pm & 10:15pm Sun @ 8pm Laugh Out Loud Comedy Club Gabriel Iglesias 1/2-3, Fri-Sat @ 11:30pm Laugh Out Loud Comedy Club Kristin Key 1/1-4, Thu & Sun @ 8:30pm Fri-Sat @ 8:30pm & 10:30pm Rivercenter Comedy Club Jason Russell 1/7-11, Wed, Thu & Sun @ 8:30pm Fri-Sat @ 8:30pm & 10:30pm Rivercenter Comedy Club Kathleen Madigan 1/9, Fri @ 8pm H-E-B Performance Hall Tobin Center for the Performing Arts January/February 2015 | On The Town 35

Ralphie May 1/9-11, Fri-Sat @ 8pm & 10:15pm Sun @ 7pm Laugh Out Loud Comedy Club

Slade Ham 1/28-31, Wed, Thu @ 8:30pm Fri-Sat @ 8:30pm & 10:30pm Rivercenter Comedy Club

Mick Foley 1/11, Sun @ 6pm Rivercenter Comedy Club

Tommy Blaze 1/28, Wed @ 8pm 1/29-2/1, Fri-Sat @ 8pm & 10:15pm Sun @ 8pm Laugh Out Loud Comedy Club

Brad Upton 1/14-18, Wed, Thu & Sun @ 8:30pm Fri-Sat @ 8:30pm & 10:30pm Rivercenter Comedy Club Breaking Bad’s Steven Michael Quezada 1/15, Thu @ 8pm Laugh Out Loud Comedy Club Tommy Davidson 1/16-18, Fri-Sat @ 8pm & 10:15pm Sun @ 8pm Laugh Out Loud Comedy Club Marvin Bell 1/21-25, Wed, Thu & Sun @ 8:30pm Fri-Sat @ 8:30pm & 10:30pm Rivercenter Comedy Club Norm McDonald 1/23-24, Fri-Sat @ 8pm & 10:15pm Laugh Out Loud Comedy Club

Andrew Kennedy 2/4-8, Wed-Thu & Sun @ 8pm Fri-Sat @ 8pm & 10:15pm Laugh Out Loud Comedy Club Quentin Heggs 2/4-8, Wed, Thu & Sun @ 8:30pm Fri-Sat @ 8:30pm & 10:30pm Rivercenter Comedy Club Jeff Dye 2/11-15, Wed-Thu & Sun @ 8pm Fri-Sat @ 8pm & 10:15pm Laugh Out Loud Comedy Club XI Annual Love & Happiness Comedy Show 2/14, Sat @ 7:30pm Illusions Theater @ The Alamodome

36 On The Town | January/February 2015

Basile 2/18-22, Wed, Thu & Sun @ 8:30pm Fri-Sat @ 8pm & 10:15pm Rivercenter Comedy Club Paul Rodriguez 2/20-22, Fri-Sat @ 8pm & 10:15pm Sun @ 7pm Laugh Out Loud Comedy Club Lisa Lampanelli: Leaner Meaner Tour 2/21, Sat @ 8pm H-E-B Performance Hall Tobin Center for the Performing Arts Shane Mauss 2/25-3/1, Wed-Thu & Sun @ 8pm Fri-Sat @ 8pm & 10:15pm Laugh Out Loud Comedy Club Shawn Cornelius 2/25-3/1, Wed, Thu & Sun @ 8:30pm Fri-Sat @ 8:30pm & 10:30pm Rivercenter Comedy Club Jim Breuer 2/26, Thu @ 8pm Charline McCombs Empire Theatre Chris Tucker 2/28, Sat @ 8pm H-E-B Performance Hall Tobin Center for the Performing Arts

Children’s Pinkalicious 1/9-11, Fri @ 11:30am & 7pm Sat @ 10:30am & 2pm Sun @ 2pm 1/14-25 Wed-Thu @ 9:45am & 11:30am Fri @ 9:45am, 11:30am & 7pm Sat @ 10:30am & 2pm Sun @ 2pm 1/28-2/8, Wed @ 9:45am & 11:30am Fri @ 9:45am, 11:30am & 7pm Sat @ 10:30am & 2pm Sun @ 2pm 2/13-22, Fri @ 9:45am, 11:30am & 7pm Sat @ 10:30am & 2pm Sun @ 2pm The Magik Theatre Dinosaur Train Live!

Buddy’s Big Adventure 1/18, Sun @ 1pm & 4pm H-E-B Performance Hall Tobin Center for the Performing Arts Marvel Universe Live!

1/23-25, Fri @ 7:30pm Sat @ 11am, 3pm & 7pm Sun @ 1:30pm & 5:30pm Alamodome Jack and the Beanstalk 1/27-31, Tue @ 9:45am Thu @ 9:45am & 11:30am Sat @ 6pm 2/3-7, Tue @ 9:45am & 11:30am Thu @ 9:45am & 11:30am Sat @ 6pm 2/10-19, Tue-Thu @ 9:45am & 11:30am Sat @ 6pm Magik Theatre

Exhibitions ARTPACE Fall 2014 International Artist-In-Residence Takashi Arai Tokyo, Japan Adam Helms Brooklyn, New York Anna Krachey Austin, Texas Mika Yoshitake, curator Now thru 1/11 Hudson Showroom Hare & Hound Press + Artpace: The Art of Collaboration 1/15-4/26

Window Works Felix Gonzalez-Torres 1/15-4/26 BLUE STAR CONTEMPORARY ART MUSEUM Spatial Planes Featuring Valerie Arber, Jeffery Dell, Haylee Ebersole, Angela Fox, Mari LaCure, Monika Meler, Gary Nichols, Samantha Parker Salazar, Elvia Perrin & Kate Shepherd Now thru 2/15

Tierra y Libertad Featuring Fernando Andrade Now thru 2/15 Northern Triangle Featuring Adriana Corral, Joey Fauerso, Mark Menjivar, Jason Reed, Noah Sadowski, Vincent Valdez, Jennifer Whitney & Ricky Yanas Now thru 2/15 The Great Trash Reef Featuring Margaret Craig 1/2-2/15

BIHL HAUS ARTS Lumosity: Oil Paintings on Aluminum by Ben Mata 1/9-2/7 On & Off Fredericksburg Road Studio Tour 2/21-22 INSTITUTE OF TEXAN CULTURES

Distinguished Artist Veterans Now thru 1/4

January/February 2015 | On The Town 37

Texas Art Quilts and Modern Masterpieces Now thru 1/11 Patriots & Peacemakers 1/24-6/14

Villinski Now thru 7/26 Regarding Ruscha 1/21-5/17

Sikhs: Legacy of the Punjab 2/21-10/18

Rodin to Warhol: 60th Anniversary Gifts and Recent Acquisitions 2/18-5/17

LINDA PACE FOUNDATION

All the Rage in Paris 2/18-6/21

Parallax by Shahzia Sikander Thru 3/7 SPACE:The Linda Pace Foundation Gallery Now thru 9/13

SAN ANTONIO BOTANICAL GARDEN

Adam (Public Artwork)

By Arturo Herrera 25’ h x 98’ w, Frost Bank Garage Commerce at Main Now thru 12/2016 McNAY ART MUSEUM Intimate Impressionism from the National Gallery of Art Now thru 1/4 Manet to Gauguin Now thru 1/4 Artists Take the Stage Now thru 1/25 School at Sunset Hills Now thru 2/15 Chris Doyle: Video Works Now thru 5/17

Nature Conects: Art with Lego ® Bricks Now thru 1/4 Art in the Garden 2014 (In conjunction with Blue Star Contemporary Art Center) Now thru 1/31 SAN ANTONIO MUSEUM OF ART Diego Rivera in San Antonio: A Small Focus Exhibition (On Display at Nelson A. Rockefeller Center for Latin American Art at SAMA) Legacy of Beauty: An Exhibition of Chinese Ceramics in Honor of Walter F. Brown Now thru 1/4

38 On The Town | January/February 2015

Raices Americanas: Recent Acquistions of Pre-Columbian Art Now thru 2/28

TEXAS A&M EDUCATIONAL AND CULTURAL ART CENTER

Nelson Rockefeller’s Picassos: Tapestries Commissioned for Kykuit Now thru 3/8

Besos de la Muerte: Photographs from Mexico City

by Ruben C. Cordova Now thru 2/1

Dos Mujeres: Diego Rivera’s Cubist Masterpiece A special loan that is on display to complement

Children of the Revolucion…

Los Antepasados Altar inspired By the Cortez family Now thru 2/1

Nelson Rockefeller’s Picassos: Tapestries Commissioned for Kykuit exhibition

WITTE MUSEUM

Ancient to Modern: Contemporary Japanese Ceramics and their Sources 1/17-4/4

Two Women Look West: Photographs of King Ranch by Helen C. Kleberg and Toni Frissell Now thru 1/4

SOUTHWEST SCHOOL OF ART

H-E-B Body Adventure Now Open

Intense & Fragile Now thru 1/25

Miscellaneous

Liz Rodda: Plateau Now thru 1/23 Confections and Fictions 2/12-4/26

Light The Way 2014 Now thru 1/6 University of the Incarnate Word

Crochet Coral Reef Project 2/12-4/26

Valero Alamo Bowl 1/2, Fri @ 5:45pm Alamodome

U.S. Army All-American Bowl & SA Sports All-Star Football Game 1/3, Sat @ 12pm Alamodome

Sage “Taste the Dream�

1/17, Sat @ 6pm Institute of Texan Cultures

Monster Jam 1/10-11, Sat @ 7pm Sun @ 2pm Alamodome

WWE Live 1/18, Sun @ 5pm Freeman Coliseum

San Antonio Cocktail Conference 1/15-18 At various restaurants and bars in downtown San Antonio

Culinaria: San Antonio Restaurant Week 1/19-24 At participating restaurants throughout the city

Harlem Globetrotters 1/29, Thu @ 7pm AT&T Center

Ava Pine Tuesday Musical Club Artist Series 3/2 - Laurel Heights Methodist

Coming Soon 2 Cellos Arts San Antonio 3/1 - Majestic Theatre Lang Lang San Antonio Symphony 3/2 - H-E-B Performance Hall @ The Tobin Center

Once (touring) 3/3-8 - Majestic Theatre John Mellencamp 3/5- H-E-B Performance Hall @ The Tobin Center Mnozil Brass Arts San Antonio 3/5 - Aztec Theatre

January/February 2015 | On The Town 39

San Antonio Symphony Pops The Music of Abba 3/6-8 - H-E-B Performance Hall @ The Tobin Center Juan Gabriel 3/7 - Freeman Coliseum Musical Evenings at San Fernando Cathedral presented by Musical Bridges Around The World: Pastime with Good Company 3/8 – San Fernando Cathedral Tommy Dorsey Orchestra 3/8 - Kathleen C. Cailloux Theater Kerrville Opera San Antonio Il Segreto Di Susanna / La Voix Humaine 3/12 & 15 - H-E-B Performance Hall @ The Tobin Center Tango Buenos Aires 3/14 - Jo Long Theatre @ The Carver Neil Berg’s 102 Years of Broadway Boerne Performing Arts 3/15 – Champions Auditorium Boerne

Apollo Chamber Players Fredericksburg Music Club 3/15 - Fredericksburg United Methodist

Celebration of Motown Music 3/27 - Brauntex Performing Arts Theatre New Braunfels

Shen Yun 2015 3/15-17 - H-E-B Performance Hall @ The Tobin Center

Ballet San Antonio Balanchine 3/27-29 - H-E-B Performance Hall @ The Tobin Center

Santana: The Corazon Tour 3/19 - Selena Auditorium @ American Bank Center Corpus Christi

Blue Man Group (touring) 3/27-29 - Majestic Theatre

Vijay Iyer Courtesy Carver Community Cultural Center ZZ Top Courtesy Majestic Theatre Page 28 (L-R) Cory Morrow Courtesy cmt.com In The Mood Courtesy inthemoodlive. com

Penn & Teller 3/20 - Majestic Theatre

Elias Quartet San Antonio Chamber Music Society 3/29 - Temple Beth-El

H-E-B Big League Weekend LA Dodgers vs. Texas Rangers 3/20-21 - Alamodome

Mid-Texas Symphony River of Time 3/29 – Canyon HS Performing Arts Center New Braunfels

San Antonio Symphony Petrushka 3/20-22 - H-E-B Performance Hall @ The Tobin Center

Buddy Guy 3/29 - Aztec Theatre

Broadway @ San Antonio Megan Mullally & Seth Rudetsky 3/21 - Woodlawn Theatre

Photo Credits: Page 26 (L-R)

Wilson Phillips Courtesy mtv.com

Ivy League Stand Up 3/21 - Kathleen C. Cailloux Theater Kerrville

Nancy Zhou Courtesy Fredericksburg Music Club

Eric Gratz Courtesy San Antonio Symphony

Con Brio String Quartet The Arts @ Coker 3/22 - Coker United Methodist

Liverpool Legends Courtesy liverpoollegends. com - Creative Commons Attribution International License

40 On The Town | January/February 2015

Ariana Grande 3/31 - AT&T Center

Lee Ritenour Courtesy Fort Sam Houston Theater Maya Beiser Photo by ioulex Page 30 (L-R) Sebastian Lang-Lessing Photo by Marks Moore Daniel Hope Photo courtesy San Antonio Symphony

Page 32 (L-R) Rick Springfield Courtesy Empire Theatre

January/February 2015 | On The Town 41

Musical Offerings Courtesy musicalofferings.org

Sarah McLachlan Courtesy Majestic Theater

Itzhak Perlman Photo by Lisa Marie Mazzucco

Bella Hristova Photo by Lisa Marie Mazzucco

Alice Cooper Courtesy Majestic Theatre

Page 37 (L-R)

Page 34 (L-R)

Vocal Trash Courtesy vocaltrash.net

Johnny Mathis Courtesy Majestic Theatre

John O’Hurley Courtesy Majestic Theatre

John Legend Courtesy San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo

Josh Abbott Band Courtesy liveatfloores.com

Little Big Town Courtesy San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo

Kat Edmondson Courtesy Empire Theatre Page 38 (L-R) Bianca Marroquin Photo by Jeremy Daniel

Lee Brice Courtesy San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo

Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story Courtesy Tobin Center for the Performing Arts

Page 35 (L-R)

Elvis Lives!

Courtesy Tobin Center for the Performing Arts

Frankie Valli Courtesy Majestic Theatre SOLI Chamber Ensemble Photo by Kemp Davis Page 36 (L-R) Yejin Noh Courtesy saipc.org Steve Miller Band Courtesy Majestic Theater

42 On The Town | January/February 2015

Rain: A Tribute to the Beatles Photo by Cyllavon Tiedemann

Patricia Racette Photo by Devon Cass Kathleen Madigan Courtesy Tobin Center for the Performing Arts Page 40 (L-R) Ralphie May Courtesy Laugh Out Loud Comedy Club Tommy Davidson Courtesy tommycat.net Lisa Lampanelli Courtesy Tobin Center for the Performing Arts Jim Breuer Courtesy Empire Theatre Page 42 (L-R) Lang Lang Courtesy Tobin Center for the Performing Arts Megan Mullally Courtesy Woodlawn Theatre

Page 39 (L-R) Jekyll & Hyde Courtesy Tobin Center for the Performing Arts 50 Shades: The Musical Courtesy Tobin Center for the Performing Arts

Akiko Fujimoto Courtesy San Antonio Symphony Neil Berg’s 102 Years of Broadway Courtesy neilberg.com

January/February 2015 | On The Town 43

44 On The Town | January/February 2015

Culinary Arts

46-58

January/February 2015 | On The Town 45

Culinaria Adds Second Restaurant Week: January 19-24

By Ginger McAneer-Rob inson Photography Veronica Luna

T

he end of one year and the beginning of a new one typically lends itself to a time of selfreflection, which often leads to those New Year’s resolutions. If eating healthy, on a budget or exploring more of San Antonio are on that list of resolutions, then Culinaria just might have the assistance needed.

With the success of San Antonio Restaurant Week in August, Culinaria has decided to double the fun by adding another week, Jan. 19-24, to start off the new year by awakening taste buds to new flavors and memorable experiences.

Participating restaurants will be offering a prix-fixe, three-course menu for lunch and dinner at prices of $15 and $35, respectively, for tier one, and $10 and $25, respectively, for tier two. Reservations are encouraged and should be made directly with the restaurant itself – but hurry! Reservations fill up fast!

Restaurant Week is designed to help celebrate and promote local restaurants and businesses.

For patrons, it provides an opportunity to try the huge variety the city offers. The menus created by the chefs range from decadent and extravagant to fresh and simple with a unique twist. It’s a chance San Antonio Restaurant Week is the ultimate chance to visit an old favorite restaurant or be daring and to broaden culinary horizons and perhaps find a new spontaneous and try a new one. favorite restaurant. Restaurant Week is a celebration of San Antonio’s culinary community, with each San Antonio Restaurant Week is the most anticipated participating restaurant preparing to take guests’ and talked-about event of the year as far as local taste buds on the culinary adventure of a lifetime. restaurants are concerned. Suzanne Taranto46 On The Town | January/February 2015

Etheredge, Culinaria President/CEO, said: “Restaurant Week is such a big event for San Antonio that we always have people asking us to add another week because they love it so much. So, we’ve listened to the chefs, restaurants and guests, and we’re answering with an additional week in January. ” The most recent Restaurant Week featured more than 80 San Antonio restaurants, and many favorites will return.

Events throughout the year will continue to provide guests a chance to support the San Antonio culinary community while also assisting with funding the causes that Culinaria supports. Next on the organization’s schedule is the 5K Wine and Beer Run on March 21, which is a 3.1-mile run around the Shops at La Cantera, featuring a wine, beer, food and fun after-party.

Need more reason to dine out than delicious food at budget-friendly prices? San Antonio Restaurant Week benefits Culinaria. With each meal purchased from Restaurant Week menus, restaurants will donate $1 for lunch and $2 for dinner to Culinaria and the programs it supports.

Next up will be Culinaria Festival Week, May 1317. Come out to one event or many to taste some of the most delectable wine and food that the San Antonio area has to offer. Featuring local, regional and international chefs, food trucks, and wine, spirits and beer galore, Culinaria Festival Week is filled with events for everybody and every taste.

Culinaria is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to benefiting the San Antonio community and promoting San Antonio as an ideal wine and food destination. By way of providing culinary scholarships and aid to San Antonio’s chefs enduring personal hardships, Culinaria has long promoted its support of the community. The organization also has plans for the Culinaria Urban Farm that will hone in on true nutritional values and education to promote a farm-to-table diet. Currently, Culinaria is in the capital campaign phase of the Urban Farm plans.

For more information on San Antonio Restaurant Week and its participating restaurants with menus posted as they become available, visit www. culinariasa.org. For questions, comments or concerns about San Antonio Restaurant Week or any other Culinaria events, contact Culinaria at 210-822-9555 or info@culinariasa.org. Follow Culinaria on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram (Culinaria San Antonio and @CulinariaSA).

January/February 2015 | On The Town 47

BAR 414

AT THE REMODELED GUNTER HOTEL:

A Tribute to Robert Johnson

By Olivier J. Bourgoin, a.k.a. Olivier the Wine Guy Photography Greg Harrison

48 On The Town | January/February 2015

”

January/February 2015 | On The Town 49

A

lot already has been written over the years about the Gunter Hotel, the iconic structure at the corner of East Houston and St. Mary’s streets in downtown San Antonio. Recently, the grand lobby was the recipient of an extensive facelift, with a much lighter and brighter look and feel.

Both the lobby and the restaurant remodeling were completed in spring 2014. The Axle Capital Group, a Korean interest, purchased the hotel Nov. 1, 2012. Since then, a number of changes have been made, the object of which is to restore the hotel to its rightful place as a shining gem on the San Antonio hotel scene.

Gone are the dated Barron’s restaurant and adjacent pastry shop, replaced by the Market on Houston, which features a new menu, a real pizza oven and a small but inviting mini market/neighborhood grocery store stacked with gourmet products and fresh veggies.

Also gone from the Gunter’s landscape is the old bar and pub. The venerable McLeod’s having outlived its functionality, a new bar concept and a nod to San Antonio’s history was dusted off the shelves.

Famed Delta bluesman and guitarist Robert Johnson came through San Antonio in 1936. His visit was brief but memorable. Few recordings of his music exist but of those, a handful were recorded by sound engineer Don Law in a makeshift studio in room 414 of the Gunter Hotel on Nov. 23, 26 and 27, 1936. A few months later, on June 19-20, 1937, Johnson laid down several more tracks in Dallas.

The new bar has been named Bar 414, in memory of the musical footprint Johnson left on our city. From Keith Richards and his long-departed bandmate Brian Jones to Eric Clapton, from Bob Dylan to Jimi Hendrix; from B.B King to Janis Joplin, and from bands as diverse as Rush, Fleetwood Mac, the Allman Brothers and Slipknot -- all have praised and given credit to Robert Johnson for having been a musical genius, a pioneer and an inspiration to them. As a footnote, Brian Jones, a founder of the Rolling Stones, and Robert Johnson both died at the age of 27.

50 On The Town | January/February 2015

It has been documented that Robert Johnson liked to record facing the corner of the room. The reason why has been the subject of debate. Some think this is a reflection of the fact he was a shy man. Others, such as slide guitar legend Ry Cooder (who twice was ranked as one of the top 100 greatest guitarists of all time), disagree. Having spent much time studying American roots music, Cooder believes that by playing to the corner of the

room, Johnson was attempting to give his sound an additional measure of fullness, almost as if to create a homemade “reverb effect” before its time. Cooder calls this technique “corner loading.”

Opened in late July, the 1,200-square-foot Bar 414 has been creating fun and excitement with some of its cocktail offerings. Re-creating a sort of speakeasy look and feel has been the focus, and as such, Bar 414 is serving preProhibition cocktails, including many brown liquors and at least 20 types of single-malt Scotches, Canadian and Irish whiskies and bourbons and some old-time specialty cocktails such as the “Mary Pickford.”

In total, Johnson’s singing voice was captured on 29 recordings and 13 alternate takes. They were re-released as a double CD on May 8, 2011 -- the 100th anniversary of his death. Only two takes of his speaking voice survived him, however. On one of them, he can be heard saying, presumably to engineer Don Law, “I wanna go on with our next one myself.”

If few of Johnson’s recordings remain, there are even fewer photos of “the king of the Delta blues.” Only three verified, known published photos of him exist. In one of them, he is portrayed with a vintage Gibson L-1 guitar.

These photos, along with other pertinent pictures from the same era, are being shown in a video loop on some small screens above the bar itself.

Recently arrived from his previous position at the Chateau on the Lake Resort and Hotel in Branson, Mo., Jeffery VanCamp is the Gunter’s new food and beverage director. He is pumped about his task of leading the bar and restaurant at the Gunter in a new direction.

“So far, I’ll tell you, I love this city,” said VanCamp, who spent part of his youth in France where he developed a taste for good food (and later good wine). “I came here not really knowing much about San Antonio. I had no idea there was such a vibrant ‘foodie’ culture here, but I am thrilled and excited. I am exploring new spots, and every week, I discover a new gem to enjoy.”

Bar 414 at the Gunter Hotel. 205 E. Houston St. Open 5 p.m. to midnight (or later), Monday through Saturday.

Closed Sunday.

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Portions of this article previously were published in Local Community Newspapers and San Antonian magazine.

January/February 2015 | On The Town 51

Comfort-based Bending Branch Winery, At The Edge of Technology By: Olivier J. Bourgoin, aka. Olivier the Wine Guy

J

ohn Rivenburgh is feeling right at home in the Hill Country. These days, the San Antonio native and Robert E. Lee High School graduate is at the helm of his own cutting-edge winery, Bending Branch, located in Comfort, Texas, where he works with co-owner/ father-in-law, Bob Young. Together, the dynamic duo is making waves (and “steam” – to be explained later).

“I grew up in a multicultural family,” Rivenburgh said.

“Wine was a part of our family culture. To give you an example, for my 21st birthday, I went to a popular local wine store and bought myself a half-case of wine. I didn’t finish college, but although I did not finish, I am very proud of the fact that I went back to Texas Tech and took 177 credit hours over a two-and-a-half-year period to follow a very comprehensive, non-degreed viticulture program.”

Other than making wines that already have received well-deserved accolades, one of the interesting things Bending Branch is doing is using a technology Fast forward to 2006, the year John and his wife, called “Flash Détente.”

Alison, decided to start looking for land to build their 52 On The Town | January/February 2015

winery. “By then we had already committed to the idea of owning a winery and for my father-in-law to be my partner,” Rivenburgh said. “My wife and I both had fulltime jobs. I was a construction project manager, and Alison was a building consultant, but every Friday afternoon we would take time off and go scouring the countryside for suitable parcels of land.”

added. “That’s where ‘Flash’ -- that’s what we call our machine -- is located,” Rivenburgh said.

Today, Bending Branch has 22 employees, including 13 full-timers who produce more than 7,000 cases of wine made from grapes grown in Texas. In addition another 4,000 cases are made from California-grown fruit. “I may be a little more in the spotlight as the spokesperson “At the time, my in-laws were living in Atlanta but when for the company but it’s a team effort, and we owe we found our land, we knew right away that it was the everything to our staff and even to some of our ex-staff perfect spot, so we called Bob and his wife, and they members, like Jennifer Beckmann,” Rivenburgh said. flew in immediately. We signed a contract on the land in Comfort and we never looked back,” he said.

But back to “Flash Détente,” What is it exactly? Flash Détente is a technique in which the grapes first are The first phase of construction took about 16 months super-heated to 185 degrees Fahrenheit. This part of the to complete and during that time (2007), planting process is called thermo-vinification. The heat breaks started on the 56 acres, 24 of which currently are under down the cellular walls of the grapes, which then are vine. By 2008, the first wines were produced (about exploded into a vacuum while they are cooled from 100 cases), and by 2009 things were in full swing. 185 degrees to 85 degrees in a matter of seconds. This The tasting room opened Aug. 6, 2010. The original creates steam, in which many of the negative chemicals building, which was about 7,000 square feet, now is inherent to wine-making are released. In addition, up to used mainly as a storage facility. Since then, a new, 18 percent of the water weight that exists in the berries state-of-the-art 20,000-square-foot facility has been also is released in what is called “flash water.”

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“Our machine cost about half-a-million dollars,” Rivenburgh said. “There are only about 70 such machines in the world and only five in the United States. But ours is the first in the world to have been custom-built to specs and to be 100 percent fully automated,” he added. “We are the front-runners of oenology in Texas. My father-in-law is an absolutely brilliant chemist. His ideas on extraction are just the greatest. We also do custom work with Flash Détente under contract for other wineries. Pedernales Cellars and William Chris Winery are two of them.”

Tannat is the largest crop grown at Bending Branch, with 3.5 acres planted. Sixteen other grape varietals are brought to maturity carefully by the winery, which is making a name for itself by making mostly single varietals, although a few vineyard-designated blends also are made with Cabernet, Tempranillo and Aglianico for balance and structure. Also grown on several quarter- to half-acre parcels are Petite Sirah, Malbec, Souazo, Alicante, Sagrantino, Picpoul Blanc, Vermentino, Rousanne and Charbono.

Texas Tannat is my favorite, if I have to pick one, and our 2011 Mourvèdr, I didn’t expect it to show so well but it was a pleasant surprise.”

“We want to be known as one of the leading wineries in the state, but we don’t want to become too big -- 10,000 to 15,000 cases total production would be ideal; not much past that,” he said. “We don’t want to get bigger than that. We are not focused on being the biggest but on producing the best wines. We want to be known as the best and as a producer of top-notch wines. We also want to be known for solid and consistent quality.

“In my opinion, San Antonio has been an undeserved market. The local ‘foodie culture’ has been exploding in recent years. I feel like the sky is the limit, and we are at the forefront of the voyage. I think San Antonio is one of the most culturally astute cities in Texas. It’s like a lost treasure, a hidden gem, When I think about it, my mind explodes. I have been around this city my whole life, and for me, as a native, because this is my hometown, I would like for our wines to be recognized as ‘the’ San Antonio brand.”

“But our Charbono is a Corvo clone from Southern France -- not a Bonarda (used to make Dolcetto in Bending Branch Winery: 142 Lindner Branch Road Italy),” Rivenburgh said. “Tannat is my baby. Our 2012 Comfort, TX 78013. 830-995-2948.

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Pinch Pennies & Dine Well

56 On The Town | January/February 2015

Š cobraphoto | Dreamstime.com

A Birthday Bonanza of Culinary Gifts

By Marlo Mason-Marie

”

Restaurants want my business. Restaurants want my business so much in fact they are willing to offer discounts seven days a week, three hundred sixty-five days a year. They do so in many ways, with the majority of them connected to the internet in some form or fashion. The worldwide web has opened the door to continuous promotion by all eating establishments, big or small. Customer appreciation clubs, discount dining dealers and restaurant email blast offers abound.

entrée of my choice. In addition, Houlihan’s emailed me a complimentary $15 entrée and Zio’s Italian Kitchen dispatched one valued at $12. Spaghetti Warehouse got into the act with a free spaghetti entrée coupled with a free spumoni sundae. These are not buy one, get one offers, but rather totally free culinary gifts.

Continuing with the “gratis” extravaganza, the burger category was nicely represented by Ruby Tuesday and Red Robin and Dickey’s added to the birthday bonanza If you are a person who does not use discounts at with a no-cost big barbecue sandwich. For breakfast I restaurants, you are losing a mountain of money can enjoy Rooty Tooty Fresh ‘N Fruity pancakes from my annually – maybe hundreds or thousands of dollars, neighborhood IHOP and a Grand Slam from the Denny’s depending on the number of times you dine out each nearest me. The only obligation here is for tax and tip. year. That’s an irrefutable fact. It would obviously be in your best financial interest to get with the program(s). Places that sent me scott-free appetizers are Texas Land Fiscal responsibility trumps all non-use excuses. One of & Cattle, Logan’s Roadhouse and Buffalo Wild Wings my favorite ways to save on restaurant fare is through with La Madeleine Country French Cafe, Panera Bread, ubiquitous “birthday clubs.” Oodles of restaurants McCormick & Schmick’s, Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse, offer the opportunity to sign up for their club (or email Mimi’s Café and Champps Americana offering up list) which qualifies you for free stuff on your birthday absolutely free desserts. that’s sent right to your “you’ve got mailbox.”

Although not without obligation, significant bogo I celebrated a birthday recently and the bounty I offers came in from Myron’s Prime Steakhouse, Shula’s received at no cost was amazing, overwhelming in American Steak House, Sumo Japanese Steakhouse fact. I simply joined (using a separate email address and Tony Roma’s. from my regular one) about 40 restaurant clubs and mailing lists, then sat back and waited. My birthday Here’s the deal. These offers are usually valid for only a sparked an avalanche of freebees. short period of time around my birthday so in reality it’s impossible to take advantage of them all. Regardless, For example, Landry’s Restaurant Group awarded the fact remains that discounts are everywhere just me a $25 credit on my Landry’s Select Club Card just waiting to be used. Restaurants want my business and because I became a year older. It’s available for use yours and they are willing to go to great lengths to get at any of their restaurants, including upscalers like it. Get with the program(s) and save. You can pinch Morton’s and McCormick & Schmick’s. Fogo de Choa pennies and dine well! and Texas de Brazil put $25 in my pocket too while Brio Tuscan Grille added $10 to My Brio Rewards Card Oh, I almost forgot, Pat O’Brien’s offered me a free drink. with no strings attached, just come in and use it. Kona That means I can have one of their famous Hurricanes Grill has $15 waiting for me to spend as I see fit on the “on the house.”

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Visual Arts 60-72

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60 On The Town | January/February 2015

DANVILLE CHADBOURNE A LOOK INTO HIS LIFE AS A FULL-TIME SCULPTOR

By Dan R. Goddard Photography by Greg Harrison

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nown for his ancient-looking sculpture resembling the sacred ar tifacts of a lost civilization, Danville Chadbourne has been one of San Antonio’s hardest-working ar tists for nearly four decades. Fusing Western modernism with tribal ar t, he combines primitive materials – mostly clay, wood, stone, fiber and bone with a few found manmade objects – into simple, serene, color ful works that look as if they were made in some forgotten prehistoric age. “ There’s still nothing more exciting to me than showing new work,” Chadbourne said. “I’m extremely for tunate that I’m able to make a living doing what I love. So I’m always happy to be working on a new show. I love thinking about it, planning it, creating the work for it and seeing how the public responds. Now a lot of people know and recognize my work and that ’s rewarding for me.”

Chadbourne constantly works on new shows because he’s one of the city ’s few artists who actually work full time at being an artist. He doesn’t rely on teaching or other day jobs to survive. Born in Bryan, Texas, he earned a BFA from Sam Houston State University in 1971 and an MFA from Texas Tech University in 1973. He came to San Antonio in 1979 to teach at the San Antonio Art Institute, but gave up teaching for good in 1989 to devote himself full-time to making art.

He’s had more than 100 one-person exhibits.

Currently, he’s showing new, hanging pieces in his one -man show on view through April 12 at the International Museum of Ar t and Science in McAllen. Spanning more than 50 works, most created within the past year, the exhibit includes large - and small-scale wood and ceramic sculptures, wall-oriented works in ink and acr ylic on wood panel, several large -scale outdoor sculptures in ceramic and stone, plus In 2013, he racked up 18,000 travel miles as the a recent series of suspended works, resembling “ West Texas Triangle” ar tist. He had simultaneous the hanging mobiles of Alexander Calder if the solo exhibits at five par ticipating museums ar tist had used only pre -industrial materials. spread throughout West Texas, including the Grace Museum in Abilene, Old Jail Ar t Center “I star ted making the suspended pieces in the in Albany, Ellen Noël Ar t Museum in Odessa, early 1970s, but they actually have no relation to Museum of the Southwest in Midland and the Calder,” Chadbourne said. “I was thinking more San Angelo Museum of Fine Ar ts. of the hanging skull racks in New Guinea (known as agiba or agibe), or the way tribal people in “It was exhausting because of all the driving, but jungles have to hang baskets from trees to store it was gratifying, too, because I got to do some their food. So this is an old format for me, but big shows in really nice spaces,” Chadbourne said. I’m been working on making the pieces bigger, “Plus, most of the museums bought pieces for more complicated and more color ful.” their permanent collections. Though a lot of hard work was involved, it ultimately was a fun project.” Designed to hang from the ceiling, the pieces January/February 2015 | On The Town 61

have a kind of giant spider-like appearance with odd cur ving “legs” jutting in various directions.

They have been painted in bright colors and often are decorated with found objects suggesting a fetish. He likes to use wood from the ligustrum tree, even though the state has declared it an invasive species, because the wood is strong and flexible. He usually strips the limbs of bark, sands them smooth and then adds color, beadwork and other subtle decorations. His hanging pieces seem to dance and twirl in the air, with a much lighter feeling than his more grounded, standing sculpture.

An encounter with Saguaro cactus on a trip to California in the early 1960s inspired the basic human-like form of his standing sculptures, which resemble geometric totem poles made up of stacked ceramic cylinders, rectangles and rings. He also designs large -scale, standing pieces for outdoors, which have become increasingly popular since his show in 2004 at the San Antonio Botanical Center.

His wall pieces and paintings often look as if they have been ripped out of the walls of a temple. To make his canvases seem like par ts of a larger architectural installation, Chadbourne applies a layer of acr ylic stucco to the canvas or wood and then scrapes away paint to replicate the appearance of flaking stucco. He tends to use simple, geometric forms such as circles and squares, and primar y colors that were once bright, but now are faded and scuffed.

Chadbourne’s next San Antonio show will be Feb. 16-March 28 at Nor theast Lakeview College as par t of Contemporar y Ar t Month. His work can be seen in its natural habitat, the ar tist ’s studio in an old conver ted grocer y store on West Summit Avenue, during the Fredericksburg Road Studio Tour Feb. 21-22. Other exhibits include the Musical Bridges Around the World galler y in April, Johnson City ’s Kirchman Galler y in May, Abilene’s McMurr y University in September and Victoria’s Nave Museum in November.

Chadbourne plans to cap a busy year with a major retrospective of his ceramics at the Say Sí galler y, opening Dec. 4, 2015.

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Kathy Armstrong Director of Exhibitions at Southwest School of Art

By Dan R. Goddard Photography of Kathy Armstrong by Todd Johnson

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s director of exhibitions at the Southwest School of Art, Kathy Armstrong spends about two years working on each show in the Russell Hill Rogers Galleries of the Navarro Campus, plus overseeing related programs, staffing, annual budgeting and strategic planning. She generally organizes two major shows in the spring and fall plus an all-school exhibit during the summer. Along with the school’s reputation for fine craft, Armstrong has made it one of the best places in the city to see contemporary art.

For the school’s 50th anniversary year in 2015, she has organized exhibits of contemporary crocheting, The Crochet Coral Reef Project (Feb. 12-April 26); self-portraits by artists associated with the Southwest School, Selfies: 50 at 50 (May 8-July 5); and a tribute to the school’s long-

serving chairman of the ceramics department, Dennis Smith and Friends (Nov. 19-Jan. 24, 2016).

“We do a lot for contemporary artists,” Armstrong said.

“We come up with funding for catalogs, cover shipping and installation costs, and I try to give artists directions for where we want to go with the show. I started the cellphone tours (you can call up a number to hear an artist talk about their work) because I thought it was important to have the artists’ voice in the show. I feel like my job is to be the artists’ advocate.”

But she doesn’t limit her work to the Southwest School.

She also has served as the associate director for the city-wide night-time arts festival, Luminaria, and on the selection committee for the Public Arts San Antonio January/February 2015 | On The Town 65

Capital Projects Artist Pool. Last fall, Fotoseptiembre degree from Smith College in Massachusetts and an MFA awarded Armstrong the 2014 Choice Award for best from the University of Arizona, where she also interned exhibition curator for Altering Space. for the Center for Creative Photography. She taught photography and designed historic exhibitions for the “One of the things I like best about San Antonio is that National Archives Mid-Atlantic Region before coming to even though I work in the no-profit sector, I’m able San Antonio in 1996 as an adjunct faculty member at the to own a house, eat well and educate my children,” Southwest School.

Armstrong said. “That’s not always the case for people I know working for nonprofits in other big cities. So I think “I came in at the same time as Paula (Owen, Southwest it’s important to give back to the community through School president) and installed exhibits in the Emily volunteer work.”

Edwards Gallery that was part of the old convent,” Armstrong said. “Moving into the new building gave us She also serves on the boards of the Monte Vista Historical lots more space and opportunities to work with artists. I Association and for Planned Parenthood Trust of South think having the gallery gives the school more credibility Texas. She has organized exhibits at local galleries, as a showcase for contemporary art.”

More Than Abstinence and Governing Bodies, benefiting Planned Parenthood.

Armstrong was associate curator for the Southwest School from 2001 until 2004, when she took a year-long “Planned Parenthood does a lot of important work for hiatus to live with her family in New Zealand, where the community, from dealing with teen pregnancy to she curated Latitude (2005) for Te Whare Wananga O providing birth control,” Armstrong said. “My feeling Awanuirangi, a Maori tribal university, and worked as an is that providing affordable care for poor families and exhibitions curator for the Whakatane District Museum dealing with family planning issues should not be overseeing a contemporary gallery. wrapped up in politics.”

Since her return to San Antonio, she’s curated A native of Philadelphia, Armstrong earned her BA exhibits such as Local Loteria (2006), Te Taitanga/ 66 On The Town | January/February 2015

Bind Together: Contemporary Art from New Zealand (2008), Engaged and Fragmented (2009), Texas Draws (2009, 2012), Interplay: Mechanical Objects (2012) and Mock/Bite (2013).

Science writer Margaret Wertheim, a TED Talks star, founded the Institute for Figuring to advance the aesthetic appreciation of scientific concepts, such as crocheting a coral reef to illustrate a model hyperbolic space for The Crochet Coral Reef Project, opening with Currently on view through Jan. 25 in the Russell Hill a reception 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Feb. 12 at the Southwest Rogers Galleries is an exhibit curated by Owen titled School, along with Confections and Fictions featuring Intense and Fragile: Contemporary Porcelain Sculpture. three artists using unusual materials – Jesse Amado, Focusing on the hard, white ceramic usually associated Kelly O’Connor and Andrew Havenhand. with “fine china,” the show features nine artists who push the limits of porcelain, from Oregon artist Kate MacDowell’s mice with human ears growing on their backs to Virginia artist Elizabeth King’s eerie video, “Ediolon,” starring a porcelain figure that seems to Photo Credits: come to life.

Page 65 “We don’t have a set formula for coming up with Engaged and Fragmented Exhibition shows,” Armstrong said. “We get input from faculty and department chairs. We talk to artists. We look for trends happening at a national level. Then I start digging Page 66 into the topic, doing a lot of research. I ask artists to Interplay Exhibition participate and then negotiate with them about what works are available. Almost always, the work is being made new especially for the show, and I work with the Page 67 Altering Space Exhibition artists trying to decide what will best fill the space.”

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Random Thoughts: Nelson Rockefeller’s Picassos Tapestries and On & Off Fredericksburg Road

By Vivienne Gautraux

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he great thing about having the opportunity to do this article is that I can discuss any topic(s) I want. No structure, just a fun ramble through this and that is how it rolls. This time around I am featuring two visual arts happenings in the city that are totally unrelated, one at the San Antonio Museum of Art and the other up, down and all around Fredericksburg Road.

The San Antonio Museum of Art is exhibiting Nelson Rockefeller’s Picassos: Tapestries Commissioned for Kykuit through March 8. An information release from the museum mentioned that this is the only time so many of the commissioned Picasso tapestries (fourteen of eighteen) have been exhibited together outside of Kykuit, the Rockefeller family estate in Westchester County, New York.

In goes on to further say that the late Nelson A. Rockefeller commissioned the works between 1958 and 1975, and that the tapestries were woven entirely by hand by Madame J. de la Baume Dürrbach at her studio in southern France. Enormous in scale—some as large as 9 ft. x 12 ft.—these woven works of art took between three and six months to complete. Picasso collaborated with the weaver on the color choices of many of them and approved the final weaving. The artist verified his involvement by signing the backs of photographs of the tapestries.

were based on paintings from Rockefeller ’s own collection: Interior with a Girl Drawing, Pitcher and Bowl of Fruit, and Girl with a Mandolin (Fanny Tellier). Four of the tapestries were based on paintings from the Museum of Modern Art’s collection–Harlequin, Three Musicians, The Studio, and Night Fishing at Antibes.

Nelson A. Rockefeller believed in the transformative power of art and his love of modern art was encouraged by his mother, one of the founders of the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.

Rockefeller said, “I was always most strongly drawn to the work of the great European pioneers of modern art…Of all of them, Picasso was always my favorite. His restless vitality and constant search for powerful new forms of expression, combined with his superb craftsmanship and sense of color and composition, have remained an unending source of joy and satisfaction to me.”

A catalogue with color plates of the tapestries and essays treating the history of the commissions, the original paintings, and the correspondence between Rockefeller, Picasso, and the weavers, will be published to accompany the exhibition.

Nelson A. Rockefeller’s daughter Ann donated much of her father’s Mexican folk art collection to the San Antonio Museum of Art in 1985. It is housed in the One of Rockefeller’s missions was to share the Museum’s Nelson A. Rockefeller Center for Latin enjoyment and appreciation of the arts. Much more American Art Center. durable and easier to transport than paintings, these tapestries of great works by Picasso can be viewed Switching gears completely, let’s go on a tour the by a much larger audience. Three of the tapestries weekend of February 21-22. The 8th Annual On & January/February 2015 | On The Town 69

Off Fredericksburg Road Studio Tour features more For more information, visit www.onandofffred.org than 85 artisans in one of the biggest neighborhood or call Bihl Haus Arts at (210)732-3502. arts tours in the nation.

Presented by Bihl Haus Arts, the On & Off Fredericksburg Road Studio Tour offers art enthusiasts a glimpse into the private homes, art studios and galleries of established artisans, including painters, sculptors, metal smiths and photographers. Additionally, some 200 musicians, poets, theater troupes and dance groups help make this community event one of the biggest art studio tours in the country. Tour hours on Saturday are 11am-6pm and 12-5pm on Sunday.

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After Pablo Picasso Spanish, 1881-1973 Tapestry after Three Dancers, 1935 Woven in 1967 by Mme. J. de la aume Durrbach, Cavalaire, France Wool Tapestry, h. 9 ft. 10 ¾ in.; w. 6 ft. 6 ½ in.

The tour consists of a 15-mile route along On loan from Kykuit, National Trust for Historic Fredericksburg Road beginning at Bihl Haus Arts Preservation, bequest of Nelson A. Rockefeller which is located at 2803 Fredericksburg Road. More Image courtesy San Antonio Museum of Art than 3,000 locals and area visitors are expected to @2104 Estate of Pablo Picasso / Artist Right walk, bike or bus along Fredericksburg Road in San Society (ARS), New York Antonio’s historic Deco District, to participate in this Photography by Lynton Gardiner annual celebration of arts, community and culture.

Page 70 A full-color brochure consisting of a map and information on participating artists and their works is for sale. The Bihl Haus Arts studio tour itself is free and open to the public.

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Literary Arts

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Book Talk:

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BRIAN RUSSELL,

Songwriter, Producer, Author Story and Photography by Jasmina Wellinghoff

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ince Hollywood producer Brian Russell and his wife, actress Cher yl Ladd (yes, the star of Charlie’s Angels) moved to Boerne recently to be close to family members, they have enjoyed their new community and Hill Countr y living. “Cher yl and I have been coming in and out of here for about ten years because we have family here. So when I moved here I thought I would like it. But the truth is I just love it,” says Russell, who is in the process of designing and building a new residence in town. “ The people here are so welcoming and wonder ful, except for when they get behind the wheel of their cars! People become entirely different. The nicest, cutest little elderly lady can get into her truck and become a night rider.

It ’s amazing to me.”

We both laugh at that reference to Texas-style driving. I have come to his home to inter view him about his debut novel Scribe and both husband and wife welcome me warmly. Like a good hostess, Ladd even offers me a cup of tea before dashing off to a meeting.

A couple of years ago, after a career as per former, songwriter and film and T V producer, Russell decided to realize a longtime dream of writing a novel. It was a new challenge and the most difficult project of his life, he notes, absolutely all consuming. It took 2 ½ years to complete the first draft but he loved ever y moment of it.

Along the way, the new novelist developed his own approach to stor ytelling.

Though Scribe is a suspense/myster y with

supernatural elements, Russell did not begin by doing a lot of research or even by meticulously plotting his narrative. One day, he simply sat down and began to write. “Rather than plotting out ever ything and becoming mired in research, I thought I would just write page one and see what happens,” he says. “Being from Scotland, I knew I wanted to write about Scotland. Scotland is kind of steeped in myster y ; it ’s got a bloody, violent past but it ’s also ver y romantic. So I tried to tie these two together and I really just embarked on… a boy and something happened to him. Then I thought of a Hollywood couple in Scotland, fish out of water, a premise I liked.

I swear I had no idea who my characters were going to become.”

At the center of the story are a Hollywood producer and his movie star wife, John and Valerie MacIntyre, who rent a house on Loch Awe in Western Scotland for the summer where John intends to write a historical novel. Unbeknownst to them, their summer residence was once the scene of a gruesome murder and the murderer has plans to use the MacIntyres to achieve a mysterious goal. Part of the scheme involves a pretty young singer, Moira, who is recruited to seduce John and lead him into a trap inside the ruins of a local fortress. But there’s another narrative layer as well, namely the historical tale that John is writing about a ruthless 17 th century Campbell clan leader and his unfortunate bride.

As both stories develop, John realizes that he is merely a conduit for an unknown “scribe” who is really telling the tragic Campbell tale. Ultimately, the two stories intersect in a fateful denouement.

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In the course of writing the book, Russell experienced something similar to what his protagonist went through. Though he doesn’t claim supernatural inter vention, he explains that the ancient stor y that John is writing in the novel-within-the -novel “almost wrote itself. It required almost no re -writing; it flowed out day after day after day. The contemporar y one, on the other hand, was rewritten a dozen times.”

Even more bizarre was the experience he and Ladd had when they visited Scotland after he had completed about 100 pages of his manuscript.

Though he had set the novel’s action around Loch Awe which he knew existed, he had never actually been there. As they drove into that par t of Scotland on this par ticular visit, the Russells were surprised to discover that real villages in the area bore the names that he had chosen for his fictional towns. What ’s more, the Campbells’ castle stood on the shore of the loch looking pretty much the way he had described it in the book. “ We were just astounded,” he says.

When Ladd read her husband’s novel the first time, she wept. Oh my God, is it that bad, he repor ts thinking, half-jokingly. But she was cr ying because she was moved by the MacIntyres’ stor y which has some similarities to the Russells’ own experience, not in terms of crime and myster y but more from the perspective of their relationship.

Like his character John, Russell has had to adjust to living with a much more famous wife. “Cher yl was a great model for Valerie in that that her success greatly overshadowed mine. And that ’s something I’ve lived with for 35 years,” notes the handsome, friendly author. “I’ve been happy in that context. I don’t like the limelight but Cher yl blossoms in front of a thousand people. She sang the national anthem at the Super Bowl! She was on Broadway! My wife has a lot of courage.”

The book is dedicated to Ladd, who like Valerie, stood by her man through challenging situations. Unusual among the Hollywood crowd, the Russells have been married for 34 years. “ We gave this marriage to God who has become a big par t of our lives,” obser ves Russell.

“And we have a responsibility to be an example for our children and grandchildren. We feel our marriage is blessed.”

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In the course of their years together, the two have worked on common projec ts a number of times. A par ticularly memorable one was The Grace Kelly Stor y which aired on ABC. Russell got the idea that Cher yl should play Grace when he saw the two women talk during a visit to Monaco. Upon their return, he went straight to ABC to pitch the projec t, ready to explain and argue. I nstead, he received an immediate “yes.” Complications arose, however, when the Prince and Princess of Monaco expressed their disapproval. “I flew to Monaco to talk to Grace.

As she read the script, she star ted ac ting it and I could see that she was becoming intrigued” recalls Russell. “I told her we would do it as a homage to her and I ac tually hired her and R ainier as producers. But then, she drove off the cliff and ever ything stopped.” Months later, it was Prince R ainier who renewed the contac t, to fulfill his dead wife’s wish.

Scribe was published privately through Russell’s music publishing company Kengorus Publishing and is currently available only on Amazon.

Readers’ reviews have been very gratifying and book clubs have started “to pick it up now.” Like every good mystery, Scribe drives you to read to find out what happens next, mo matter how tired you may be. The author hopes the novel will soon grab the interest of a bigger publisher who would reissue and promote it properly. Moreover, the story is eminently suitable for a T V miniseries. All of that will have to wait a little longer, however, until he completes the project that’s the closest to his heart right now – the new residence. Yet a sequel is already in the works.

• • • • • • • • • • • • •

You can contact Brian Russell for readings and presentations through his website www.

Russell’s other T V hits include the CBS series One scribewriter.com West Waikiki and The Fulfillment of Mar y Gray, also for CBS. For the big screen he produced From the Hip, Spellbinder and Voyage of the Rock Aliens. I n his early career, he per formed in a number of T V shows - including regular appearances on the Sonny and Cher Show recorded two albums with his first wife Brenda, and wrote many songs, some of which have been more recently re -interpreted by ar tists such as K anye West, Jay Z and Beyonce. Sadly, in some instances the songwriter had to sue to get his rightful royalties. O ther singers who made his songs famous are Anne Murray, Chak a K ahn and, yes, Cher yl Ladd.

But writing a book is a thrill like no other. “I t ’s the ultimate ego trip,” he ack nowledges with a chuck le. “ When you think about it, the audacity that it takes to be a writer! What k ind of ego does it take to think that you can write hundreds of pages that someone is going to read and enjoy. And you are completely in control of ever ything that ’s going on. There’s no one to answer to, except eventually the reader. But you can’t write for the reader. For me that would be a terrible trap. I would be second guessing ever ything. When it ’s flowing you can’t secondguess it. Maybe later when it ’s all done, but as it goes, you have to let it go.”

“Cheryl (wife Cheryl Ladd) and I have been coming in and out of here for about ten years because we have family here. So when I moved here I thought I would like it. But the truth is I just love it.”

– Brian Russell

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Eclectics 80-94

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Year of the Ram

Asian Festival 2015 at the Institute of Texan Cultures

By James M. Benavides Photography courtesy Institute of Texan Cultures

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an Antonio knows tradition, family and community. It’s a city defined by its unique ethnic heritage at a nexus point where trade, travel and history intersect. Since its early days, diverse cultures have made their way to San Antonio, and in the late 1800s, cultures from Asia and the Far East found a home in the Alamo City.

“This is a fantastic day and an amazing celebration of the Asian cultures who make their home in San Antonio,” said festival director Jo Ann Andera.

“Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Indian, Pakistani – these are pieces of who we are as Texans, and the Asian Festival helps us learn, understand and embrace these wonderful cultures.”

For years, Asian families and communities have kept their traditions alive, and more recently, they have shared their traditions with the community at large. San Antonio has embraced the Chinese New Year as a time to celebrate its Asian heritage. The 28th annual Asian Festival is Feb. 21 at the Institute of Texan Cultures.

The Asian Festival includes music and dance on two stages, a martial arts demonstration area, a tent for children and family activities, food vendors and a cooking demonstration area, exhibit space for bonsai trees and ikebana floral arrangements, and a lecture hall scheduled with a variety of engaging topics,

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including a Japanese tea ceremony, Indonesian “And they put on an amazing show, too,” Andera said. batik fabric art demonstration, and a session on “They have a high-energy dance called bhangra. The acupuncture and its uses. first time we saw them dance, it was like lightning in a bottle. The Sikhs are a wonderful part of our The 2015 Asian Festival will see the opening of a new community, and we are so glad they have joined us exhibit at the Institute of Texan Cultures, Sikhs: Legacy as a part of San Antonio’s cultural fabric.” of the Punjab, developed in cooperation with the Smithsonian Institution and sponsored by the Sikh The Institute of Texan Cultures always has espoused Heritage Society. Originating in the Punjab Valley, experience as the best way to learn about a culture, which straddles the border of India and Pakistan, and the Asian Festival is about new experiences. Food Sikhs are a unique culture united by religious practice. booths prepare exotic fare including curry, bubble Sikhism is distinct from Hinduism or Islam, though all drinks, fruit chatnee, chicken biryani, Korean-style three religions are prevalent in that part of the world. japchae stir-fry, and daal lentil soup, among their many offerings. Visitors can watch cooking demonstrations Since Sept. 11, 2001, Sikhs, widely recognized by their and try samples while learning firsthand how to make traditional turbans, have been viewed with suspicion some of these dishes. and targeted with prejudice and acts of violence.

The exhibit is an opportunity to understand the Sikh The festival features martial arts traditions as well, with culture, which now has 300 families making San a variety of styles demonstrated. Practitioners of all ages Antonio their home. Members of the Sikh community proudly wear their uniforms and show their skills, from will be available as gallery hosts during the festival, precision strikes to acrobatic maneuvers, to weapon ready to answer questions about their religion, forms. The skills are taught for self-defense and fitness, customs and heritage. as well as for discipline and clarity. Demonstrations January/February 2015 | On The Town 81

include the “hard” arts such as karate, the “soft” arts such as tai chi chuan, swordsmanship in iaido and kendo, and the exotic Filipino-style garimos arnis.

“Asian Festival is a celebration of people, cultures, and really, us as a community,” Andera said. “There are fantastic experiences to be had all around the festival grounds. Our friends and neighbors from the many Asian communities are a wonderful part of our city and our heritage. Since arriving in San Antonio, in some cases only recently, they have made a wonderful impact on our traditions, on the way we celebrate and on the opportunities we have to understand ourselves and one another.”

The 2015 Asian Festival runs from 10am to 3pm Feb. 21. Advance tickets are available online only. Ticket information and ordering is available at TexanCultures. com or at 210-458-2300. The festival also offers free admission for volunteers who serve a half-day. See the of the festival website, click here.

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“This is a fantastic day and an amazing celebration of the Asian Cultures who make their home in San Antonio. Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Indian, Pakistani – these are pieces of who we are as Texans, and the Asian Festival helps us learn, understand and embrace these wonderful cultures.”

- Jo Ann Andera Asian Festival Director

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Artistic Destination:

Cultural tourism shines brightly in San Antonio

By Julie Catalano

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or the millions of visitors who come to San Antonio each year, there might be one (or two) things uppermost in their minds: the historic Alamo and the picturesque River Walk, both longtime favorites in the country’s seventhlargest city that regularly make the top 10 list of Texas attractions.

designed to show off the city’s growth, diversity, and grab their share of the city’s $11 billion hospitality industry. Here are just a few stellar examples of San Antonio at its cultural best. Start with these and then find more to explore, whether you’re just passing through or lucky enough to live here.

VISUAL ARTS But the Alamo City also is a rising star in the heavens The much-loved McNay Art Museum on the city’s of cultural tourism, thanks to an explosion of new northeast side has drawn countless visitors over and renovated venues, a renaissance of the arts, its long and storied history, but the museum really and renewed efforts in historic preservation — all hit the big time with the opening of the Jane and 84 On The Town | January/February 2015

States. The current exhibition, Nelson Rockefeller’s Picassos: Tapestries Commissioned for Kykuit, features 15 enormous, hand-woven tapestries by Madame J. de la Baume Dürrbach and modeled after Pablo Picasso’s most important paintings.

The Institute of Texan Cultures at HemisFair Park Many of the tapestries traveled from their home at is best known for its annual Folklore Festival, Rockefeller’s Kykuit estate for the first time to come celebrating its 44th year in 2015. It is the place to SAMA, now through March 8. to see the vast collection of art and artifacts representing the state’s many ethnic groups, and First Friday in Southtown continues to showcase its legendary library contains more than 3 million the art community in the downtown-adjacent historical photos and 700 oral histories, many of neighborhood once a month, which also provides an which are accessible online. ideal opportunity to check out the fabulous Victorian architecture in the historic King William area. The free For more than 30 years, the San Antonio Museum of event is lively, fun and a good way to view and buy art Art (SAMA) has been the repository of some of the from actual and “pop-up”-style galleries. most impressive art representing world cultures to be found anywhere. Major collections include The nearby Blue Star Contemporary Art Museum Egyptian, Greek, Roman and Latin America, along is the first and longest-running contemporary with one of the finest Asian collections in the United art museum in the city, hosting more than 20 Arthur Stieren Center for Exhibitions in 2008. Mark your calendar for the McNay’s landmark anniversary exhibition Rodin to Warhol: 60th Anniversary Gifts and Recent Acquisitions from Feb. 18-May 15.

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exhibitions each year of local and international artists. The intriguing The Great Trash Reef installation by San Antonio artist Margaret Craig, which speculates on the state of the Earth’s oceans, runs Jan. 2-Feb. 15.

PERFORMING ARTS The newest, shiniest and most exciting kid on the block is the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts, a world-class venue that boasts 10 San Antonio resident professional arts groups in ballet, opera and theater and is the home of the San Antonio Symphony. Built on the site of the Municipal Auditorium (the original facade and a renovated part of that historic landmark were incorporated into the new structure), the state-of-the-art center features impeccable acoustics, a 1,759-seat performance hall with futuristic convertible floor, and a water taxi portal right on the River Walk.

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Symphony on Feb. 8; Arlo Guthrie on Feb. 26; and John Mellencamp on March 5. The Tobin’s website says it all: “We have needed this for a long time.”

The Majestic Theatre is a timeless gem in the hear t of downtown. The 1929 Spanish/ Mediterranean/Baroque “atmospheric” 2,629seat theater is unparalleled in its out-of-thisworld decor complete with a realistic night sky that audiences mar vel at no matter how many times they ’ve seen it. Home to the Broadway in San Antonio series, national touring companies have presented outstanding productions of The Lion King, Les Miserables, Wicked, Mamma Mia and many more. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975 and designated a National Historic Landmark in 1993, the Majestic has undergone two major, multimillion-dollar renovations that restored this one -of-a-kind venue to its former glor y and then some.

Just east of downtown, the Carver Community Cultural Center has been a lively arts/history/ neighborhood focal point for the African American community and beyond for more than 75 years.

Named for George Washington Carver, the center presents drama, dance, music, master classes, youth matinees and community outreach in unique, eclectic programs that highlight diverse cultures.

Upcoming 2015 offerings include Grammynominated jazz pianist, composer and bandleader Vijay Iyer on Jan. 21; a centennial concert on Feb. 8 celebrating composer/arranger/pianist Billy Strayhorn (1915-1967); and avant-garde dance company Complexions on Feb. 21.

San Jose, San Juan and Espada — all still working parishes except for the Alamo.

Already under the auspices of the National Park Service, these venerable structures may be designated as Texas’ first World Heritage Site by the United Nations Educations, Scientific and Cultural (UNESCO) by the summer of 2015. Stay tuned.

San Fernando Cathedral is a beloved downtown landmark that serves as the official church of the Archdiocese of San Antonio. One of the oldest continuously operating cathedrals in the United States, the Gothic/Colonial style structure is on the National Register of Historic Places. In 2014, HISTORIC HERITAGE San Fernando jumped into the 21st century with One of the most popular stops for residents and “San Antonio, the Saga,” a 24-minute multimedia visitors are the five 18th century Spanish Colonial presentation by French artist Xavier de Richemont missions built by Franciscan priests: In addition to projected on the cathedral’s walls in a video the Alamo (Mission Valero) are Missions Concepción, montage celebrating the city’s history.

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CULINARY ARTS All this sightseeing is bound to work up an appetite.

One of the latest hot foodie destinations is the renovated mixed-use Pearl District on Broadway just north of downtown. Starting with the popular Farmers Market every Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. (rain or shine), the Pearl welcomes visitors to “eat, play and learn” along the Museum Reach extension of the River Walk amid restored 19th century buildings that once housed the Pearl Brewery.

Photo Credits:

What better place to do all of the above than at the renowned Culinary Institute of America (CIA).

Choose from an abundant menu of everything from accredited degree programs in culinary arts or baking and pastry, to a weeklong “boot camp” experience, to a laid-back afternoon workshop on wine. Their on-site NAO restaurant features CIA student chefs serving up authentic cuisines from Latin America.

The Lion King Photo by Joan Marcus

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Page 84 Tobin Center for the Performing Arts Courtesy of the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts Page 85 Majestic Theater Photo by John Dyer Page 86

Page 87 (L-R) San Fernando Cathedral © Glenn Nagel | Dreamstime.com San Antonio River Walk © Valentin Armianu | Dreamstime.com Page 88 Spanish Dancers © Rhbabiak13 | Dreamstime.com

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THE SAN ANTONIO

STOCK SHOW AND RODEO

A Perfect 10!

By Angela Rabke Photos courtesy San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo

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E

ach year, the best cowboys and cowgirls from around the world gather in Las Vegas for the National Finals Rodeo, and while they are there, they name the PRCA Rodeo of the Year -the rodeo world’s equivalent of winning an NBA ring. This year, San Antonio was named Rodeo of the Year for the 10th consecutive year – reminding us that the AT&T Center is home to more than one type of champion. In fact, the San Antonio Rodeo is the most winning rodeo in the country. This year’s event runs Feb. 12 to March 1.

is suitable for all ages, all while offering important learning opportunities for those who attend. Two weeks might sound like a long time, but it takes that long to explore the grounds, which are teeming with activities such as a carnival, livestock shows and auctions, shopping, exhibits and live music -all with a connection to youth and agriculture.

The rodeo also shares a physical location with the Spurs, and visitors are amazed to see the transformation of the AT&T Center from NBA basketball cour t to a dir t-filled rodeo arena, Just like San Antonio’s beloved Spurs, the folks at while the surrounding grounds are transformed the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo remain true into a rural wonderland. As the Spurs travel the to their South Texas roots and to the people who nation, the rodeo brings an entirely new set of make it happen. The stock show and rodeo exists athletes to San Antonio from all over the world for the sake of kids and families and provides more — human and animal athletes. The bullriders, than two weeks of world-class entertainment that barrel racers and ropers who make the trip to

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Reba McEntire this rodeo are at the top of their game. Only the best in the business qualify to compete for San Antonio’s $1 million-plus purse, and it is truly exciting to watch. The commentar y offered by legendar y Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame announcers Hadley Barrett and Randy Corley bring the arena to life for the duration, and beloved rodeo clown/ barrel man Leon Coffee has delighted audience members for decades.

Keith Urban

The weather in February can be unpredictable, but it seems that more often than not, it is perfect. For families with young children, the stock show grounds are an ideal place to visit and provide more than one full day of activity and entertainment. During the week, the grounds are active but not heavily crowded, and children can experience multiple petting zoos, the largest junior livestock show in the world, carnival rides and pig races. Adults enjoy acres of unique Th e ro d e o p e r fo r ma n ces a re pu n c t uated shopping opportunities and the types of food that wit h a l i n e u p o f mu si ca l a c ts th at a pp eal to are only found on fairgrounds: kettle corn, corn countr y an d we s ter n mu si c l overs, pl us a few on the cob, funnel cake and the famous fajitas that spec i a l n ig ht s d e di cated to N o r ten o, Chr ist ian, volunteers grill nonstop throughout the event. com e d y an d p o p a c ts. Th e 2015 l i neup is dazzli ng, w it h Ke ith Ur ba n , Jo h n Legend, Brad The stock show and rodeo is brought to life by Pa i sl e y, R e b a M c E nti re a n d o th ers gra c ing t he more than 5,000 volunteers who take time from fa m ous ro t at in g s ta ge. Th e ro deo co nt inues work to serve on various committees, all in the its pro gram , c al l e d “ th e sta r exper i en ce,” t hat name of raising money for kids. The badges they a llows i n d i vi d u al s to pu rch a se a ti cket to watc h wear while roaming the grounds are a reminder the co n ce r t p e r fo r ma n ce f ro m th e a c tual d ir t of the event’s focus: to emphasize agriculture in th e ro d e o are n a —u p cl o se a n d personal! and education to develop the youth of Texas.

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Brad Paisley The 1 million-plus visitors to the grounds can feel great knowing that their money is going toward a great cause. Hundreds of kids show their animals in hopes of winning a space in the auctions, where supportive businesses and individuals purchase the prize-winning animals and dedicate the proceeds to the students’ educations. Additionally, money is distributed through scholarships, grants, endowments, show premiums and the calf-scramble program. To date, the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo educational commitment exceeds $147.9 million, with $11.8 million committed in 2014 in the form of scholarships, grants, endowments, auctions, a calf scramble program and show premiums paid to youth.

Tickets to the rodeo can be purchased online at sarodeo.com, ticketmaster.com, at the AT&T Center southwest box office, any Ticketmaster location or by calling 1-877-63-RODEO. For more information, visit www.sarodeo.com.

Jeff Foxworthy SAN ANTONIO STOCK SHOW & RODEO PERFORMERS 2/12, Thu @ 7pm – Joe Nichols 2/13, Fri @ 7:30pm – Hunter Hayes 2/14, Sat @ 1pm & 7:30pm – Keith Urban 2/15, Sun @ 1pm – Pentatonix 2/16, Mon @ 7pm – John Legend 2/17, Tue @ 7pm – Newsboys 2/18, Wed @ 7pm – Cole Swindell 2/19, Thu @ 7pm – Brad Paisley 2/20, Fri @ 7:30pm – Eli Young Band 2/21, Sat @ 1pm – Dan & Shay 2/21, Sat @ 7:30pm – Little Big Town 2/22, Sun @ 1pm – Easton Corbin 2/22, Sun @ 7:30pm – Banda Los Recoditos 2/23, Mon @ 7pm – Reba McEntire 2/24, Tue @ 7pm – Justin Moore 2/25, Wed @ 7pm – Billy Currington 2/26, Thu @ 7pm – Jeff Foxworthy 2/27, Fri @ 7:30pm – Styx 2/28, Sat @ 1pm – Josh Abbott Band 2/28, Sat @ 7:30pm – Lee Brice January/February 2015 | On The Town 93

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Out & About with Greg Harrison 96-101

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