Arts & Culture | Texas Public Radio

Arts & Culture

Arts and culture news, criticism, and programming from TPR/NPR.

Photos: What's On Display At The New Bexar Heritage Center

By • Oct 8, 2019
A death mask belonging to Fray Antonio Margil de Jesús, an early missionary to south Texas who founded Mission San José.
Brian Kirkpatrick | Texas Public Radio

The new Bexar Heritage Center showcases the county’s 300-year-old history.  

How A Music Scholar Finally Completed 'The Blues Come To Texas'

By & Leah Scarpelli • Oct 7, 2019

From Texas Standard:

Many people have strong opinions about Texas music, but few are true experts on the subject. Alan Govenar is one of those experts. He's studied Texas blues, and has written award-winning books. His latest work is the completion of a long-awaited project started by two musicologists more than half a century ago.  

Short Film Fest, Book Fest, Spooky Walking Tour: Your Weekend Is Here

By • Oct 4, 2019
A family poses with Clifford the Big Red Dog at the Boerne Book and Arts Festival.
Kirk Thompson

You can enjoy the unique art of short films. Meet a heroic pilot who saved her plane and passengers. Or take a spooky tour of San Antonio's sexy past. The weekend’s here, and there’s plenty to do.


Brand New Open 'Sky' Music

By • Oct 3, 2019
Albany Records

In 1993, composer and violinist Mark O’Connor  wrote “The Fiddle Concerto.” O’Connor, an award-winning fiddle, mandolin, and guitar virtuoso, successfully integrated country fiddling into a symphonic work that, with the help of Warner Bros. Records and classical radio stations hungry for new American sounds, became a crossover hit.

Youth Orchestras Of San Antonio Are Mentored In Side-By-Side Performance

By • Sep 26, 2019
Libby Day

Youth Orchestras of San Antonio offers its own version of a pay-it-forward style concert this weekend. YOSA's Troy Peters said the side-by-side concerts they perform twice a year have that pay-it-forward aspect built into their DNA.


'Downton Abbey' Composer: 'If I Haven't Felt Moved, Then I Haven't Done My Job'

By • Sep 20, 2019
Courtesy photo

Composer John Lunn didn’t start writing music for films and television programs until he was 32. Two decades after he began that journey, American audiences fell in love with the Crawleys – and Lunn’s memorable themes – from “Downton Abbey,” the ITV/PBS program that follows an aristocratic family through the first decades of the 20th century.

Mahler, Hill Country Art And Jazz: Your Weekend Is Here

By • Sep 20, 2019
Greg Harrison

Let a Mahler symphony transport you. Watch a Texas town turn into artists’ studio. And then enjoy some jazz at Travis Park. The weekend is here and it’s packed with fun.


Choral Event To Benefit Students, San Antonio Food Bank

By & • Sep 18, 2019

Tenor David Portillo took his talent from Holmes High School on San Antonio’s west side all the way to the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. Now, he’s coming back to town with YouthCUE, a nationwide effort to positively impact kids through the power of choral music.

Heritage Month Special: Mexican Music Then And Now

By • Sep 18, 2019

Every month is Latino Heritage Month on Alt.Latino, but I like to set aside some special features from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15 to celebrate. We're kicking things off with a trio of interviews with musicians and a filmmaker who have three very distinct connections to Mexican music.

Air Force Ensembles 'Honor, Inspire, And Connect' With Community

By • Sep 16, 2019
Nathan Cone / TPR

For nearly eight decades, the United States Air Force Band of the West has been lifting the morale of service members at home and abroad, as well as entertaining the public and strengthening ties to the community right here in San Antonio, where it’s based at Lackland AFB. Last month I had the pleasure of meeting members of the U.S. Air Force Band of the West to learn the many ways in which they fulfill their mission, “to go into communities, and to honor, inspire, and connect,” according to Maj Dustin M.

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