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Musical Bridges Around the World has been bringing world renowned musicians to play in San Antonio for free since 1998. Musical Bridges’ Suhail Arastu said they now have produced a documentary about the music called "The Quilt" that will play locally on Saturday, Jan. 11.
“'Quilt' is actually a film that was made through our Musical Sprouts program to share the history, the culture and the rich heritage of African American music as an influence on American music,” Arastu said.
Musical Sprouts refers to an educational, arts-infused program.
Musical Bridges is also known for creating concerts and inviting everyone to experience them for free since 1998. They have mainly performed concerts at San Fernando Cathedral but now are branching out to other venues.
They’ve also dabbled in documentary filmmaking before, such as their film produced four years ago, "Exploration of Ukraine" (with Jurij Fedynskyj).
Their more recent film, "The Quilt" is another avenue they’re using to get the word out that humanity is found in most everyone and almost wherever you look. Arastu said it’s another way to remind people of our shared humanity.
“And following the creation of the film — which has won many awards across festivals — we've decided to start an annual concert in partnership with Dream Week in January every year called 'Quilt,' where we invite different musicians that represent African American music to our historic cathedral, San Fernando, for a Sunday concert,” he said.
Arastu said the Jan. 11 event is also a celebration.
“This year, we're providing the San Antonio gospel heritage choir that was founded by the SAACAM, or the San Antonio African American community archive and museum, to really celebrate the legacy of gospel music here in San Antonio and it's a multi-generational group. They'll be joined by the Legacy Collective, a really dynamic group of recording artists that again honor African American history and culture to the arts,” he said.
Nearly all of Musical Bridges’ special events are free, but registration is required.
