events
Agarita Loft: Places in South Texas
Brand new works from the Composers Alliance of San Antonio, written especially for Agarita. This special commissioning project features music inspired by sites in San Antonio, from historic religious locations like the San Fernando Cathedral to local landmarks like McNay Courtyard. Composers include Kevin Salfen, Ken Metz, Bill Ross, Samuel Gaskin, and Peter Petroff.
Tickets available 1 week prior.
Note: the Loft is on the 2nd floor and only accessible by stairs. Capacity is limited in this 1300 sq ft space.
FREE parking (less than 1 block away!) for this event has been generously donated by United Way of San Antonio and Bexar County. Please access the southern United Way lot off S. Alamo Street through the entrance on Barrera Street.
Google Maps Parking Pin: CLICK HERE
This project is generously supported by The City of San Antonio Department of Arts and Culture.
Unheard-of Ensemble in Ohio
I’ll be in Ohio for several concerts of new music (brand new music) with my NYC-based group Unheard-of Ensemble. We’re touring across Ohio performing works by Jesse Jones, Susanna Hancock, Aliayta Foon Dancoes, Andrew Burke, Robert McClure, Meg Okura, Christian Quiñones and Chris Stark, as well as workshopping and recording works by students at Ohio University, Ohio State, and Oberlin.
NOV 10 – Ohio University
NOV 11 – Johnstone Fund
Details:
7:00 pm at the Short North Stage's Green Room
1187 N High St, Columbus, OH 43201
NOV 12 – Ohio State University
NOV 13 & 14 – Oberlin
Play That Back! at the Agarita Loft
Interactive Lecture: Storytelling, Baroque and Classical
Join me for a lecture at the Agarita Loft
724 S Alamo St., San Antonio, TX
The Baroque and Classical Eras of music found inspiration from very different sources, and expression through very different forms. In this talk and demonstration, I will frame the Baroque Era as a deeply emotional and expressively innovative time, and the Classical Era as a time of formal clarity, theatrics, and wit.
Tickets available HERE.
Note: the Loft is on the 2nd floor and only accessible by stairs. Capacity is limited in this 1600 sq ft space.
FREE parking (less than 1 block away!) for this event has been generously donated by United Way of San Antonio and Bexar County. Please access the southern United Way lot off S. Alamo Street through the entrance on Barrera Street.
Google Maps Parking Pin: CLICK HERE
Agarita Presents: Rhapsody in Blue
When: Sunday, October 19 at 3pm
Where: The San Antonio Botanical Garden (Kelso Center)
Description: Gershwin is one of the only composers who truly integrated jazz in all its style, harmony, and soul into larger-scale classical forms. Come share the experience of hearing this unique arrangement of his iconic 20th-century work Rhapsody in Blue for piano, strings, and clarinets, along with other Gershwin gems and complementary works, at the beautiful San Antonio Botanical Garden.
Featuring clarinetists Stanislav Chernyshev and Ann Hung, with Agarita
Thank you to the City of San Antonio for their generous support.
FREE tickets available 2 weeks prior to the show.
TOSA's Chamber Connexions: The Lights Are Going Out
When: Wednesday, October 1 at 7:30pm
Where: Carlos Alvarez Studio Theater, Tobin Center
Description: Presented in the 80th anniversary year of the end of World War II, The Lights Are Going Out is a concert-length meditation on war, memory, and the fragility of peace. Through music by Pärt, Bartók, Penderecki, and Górecki—interwoven with texts by Winston Churchill—the program traces a ritual arc: from foreboding and collapse to grief, madness, and finally, a single human voice rising out of silence.
More info, including ticketing:
https://www.theorchestra-sa.org/calendar/the-lights-going-out
TOSA’s Chamber Connexions: Chamber Music in the Loop
Chamber Music In The Loop is an intimate, donor-hosted event designed to bring chamber music closer to the community. This 12pm event will take place at the Agarita Loft (724 S Alamo St) and combines music, storytelling, and hospitality. Daniel Anastasio takes you deeper inside the music of TOSA’s October 1 program by explaining and framing works by Bartok, Gorecki, Pärt and more, with playing demonstrations from the TOSA musicians.
Unheard-of: Fire Ecologies Album Release Show
Date: September 27th, 2025, 6:30PM Music, 6PM Canoe Launch
Location: Gowanus Dredgers Bunker, 2 19th St, Brooklyn, NY 11232
Join Unheard-of Ensemble, the Dredgers, and Christopher Stark for our Fire Ecologies album release party. The ensemble performs the entire album live followed by an afterparty featuring food and drink from some of our favorite Brooklyn breweries and distilleries.
Fire Ecologies is an album length Chamber Music America commission from Rome Prize-winning composer Christopher Stark, exploring America's changing landscapes in the face of climate change. The work incorporates field recordings of the 2020 California wildfires and sounds from Chris's travel across Montana, Oregon, and California as well as parts of Colorado as well as explorations of nature from America’s heartland surrounding Missouri. The album will be released on New Focus Recordings and available in-person at the show.
Agarita performs Max Richter’s The Four Seasons
Join Agarita at 7:30pm at the Chapel of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio, TX for their
SEASON OPENER:
The Four Seasons Reimagined
In 2012, Max Richter recomposed The Four Seasons in his own voice, imbuing Vivaldi’s famous Baroque motives with a contemporary poignancy that brought worldwide acclaim. Experience the power of this monumental work live inside the breathtaking Chapel of the Incarnate Word, with special guests and Agarita’s own twists.
Unheard-of Ensemble Festival (CCI)
The contemporary, NYC-based group Unheard-of Ensemble is hosting its Collaborative Composition Initiative workshop (CCI//Sessions) in San Antonio, Texas between August 8th and 16th, 2025. This CCI, we will be presenting concerts, installations, and creative workshops across the city, from the San Antonio Missions and Confluence Park to coffee shops and community spaces. This year marks a special partnership with German chamber ensemble PART. Both ensembles will workshop new compositions with participants to be recorded using Unheard-of’s cinema cameras and audio setup. After the workshop, Unheard-of and participants will work together to develop an album recording. Participants and the ensembles will collaborate in the development of a performance installation using sound samples and field recordings taken during the week in San Antonio.
More info HERE
Maverick Concerts
Maverick Chamber Music Festival
The Manhattan Chamber Players, including Rubén Rengel, Violin,
Keiko Tokunaga, Violin, Luke Fleming, Viola, Abigail Monroe, Cello and
Daniel Anastasio, Piano are joined by Mariam Adam, Clarinet, Andrew Trombley, Double Bass, Katherine Fortunato, Percussion and Oliver Xu, Percussion for a program of Mozart, Valerie Coleman, and Russell Pratt.
Where:
Maverick Concert Hall, 120 Maverick Road
Woodstock, NY 12498
Click HERE for tickets.
Agarita + Imani at the Empire Theatre
The GRAMMY-winning quintet Imani Winds joins Agarita for a powerful collaborative evening featuring renowned poet Naomi Shihab Nye and contemporary dancer Tanesha Payne of sumRset dance company at the Empire Theatre. This assembly of artists promises to be an epic season finale.
FREE tickets available Friday, June 5th at 10am at Agarita.org
Thank you to the Russell Hill Rogers Fund for the Arts for sponsoring Imani Winds!. In addition, thank you to the City of San Antonio and the Majestic Empire Foundation for their generous support.
Agarita + Imani Winds
The GRAMMY-winning quintet Imani Winds joins Agarita for a powerful collaborative evening featuring renowned poet Naomi Shihab Nye and contemporary dancer Tanesha Payne of sumRset dance company at the University of the Incarnate Word’s Bennack Concert Hall. This assembly of artists promises to be an epic season finale.
FREE tickets available 2 weeks prior to the show
Thank you to The City of San Antonio for their support and to the Russell Hill Rogers Fund for the Arts for sponsoring Imani Winds!
Agarita at Carnegie Mellon University
Agarita’s residency at Carnegie Mellon, performing the program-length work ‘One in Four, One in Eight’ by composer Katherine Pukinskis for the Twentieth International Conference on the Arts in Society
Unheard-of Ensemble: Music of Leila Adu
Summoning You: Featuring Leila Adu
Opener: Jessica Ackerley
Date: May 24th, 2025, 8PM Music, 7:30PM Canoe Launch
Location: Gowanus Dredgers Bunker, 2 19th St, Brooklyn, NY 11232
Electropop, avant-classical singer-songwriter Leila Adu joins Unheard-of to kick off the 2025 Cultural Ecologies season with new and recent arrangements of her music including her Freedom Suite and music from her latest album Moonstone & Tar Sands. Compared to Nina Simone and Joanna Newsome by WNYC, Adu has released five acclaimed albums, and has given visionary solo BBC and WQXR performances.
Hawai’i-based jazz guitarist, composer, and improvisor Jessica Ackerley opens the performance with a set of her original work. Ackerley will be performing selections from their most recent record, "All Of the Colours are Singing" and new music inspired by a summer 2024 residency in Svalbard, Norway. Their music has been featured and reviewed in Pitchfork, Wire Magazine, BBC Radio, Whole Note, MusicWorks Magazine, New York City Jazz Record, and BandCamp’s monthly “Best of” lists.
Agarita at the Loft: One in Four, One in Eight
There is often an unfortunate and unnecessary taboo surrounding topics of infertility and pregnancy loss. The physical, psychological, and emotional journeys for women, if shared and understood, can lead to incredible personal growth, community-wide empowerment, and positive systemic change. In her new work One in Four, One in Eight for Agarita, Katherine Pukinskis explores four emotional chapters during her own journey, from anticipation to disorientation, loss, and ultimately strength.
Tickets available one week prior HERE.
Note: the Loft is on the 2nd floor and only accessible by stairs. Capacity is limited in this 1300 sq ft space.
FREE parking (less than 1 block away!) for this event has been generously donated by United Way of San Antonio and Bexar County. Please access the southern United Way lot off S. Alamo Street through the entrance on Barrera Street.
Google Maps Parking Pin: CLICK HERE
Unheard-of Ensemble: Dialogues Series
DIALOGUES SERIES// Reid and Farhat
April 27, 2025 – 7:00PM
New York City
RESERVATIONS TBA SOON
Unheard-of performs works by Leah Reid and Seare Farhat as part of our collaboration with Soli’s 30x30x30 project. We also perform a trio by Meg Okura and other recently written quartet works.
Opus Nova Chamber Series: Rhapsody in Blue
George Gershwin is one of the only composers who truly integrated jazz in all its style, harmony, and soul into larger-scale classical forms. His piano concerto Rhapsody in Blue is a perfect example of that symbiosis: virtuosic piano cadenzas and clear thematic structures are met with carefree jazz rhythms and goofy woodwind solos. Rhapsody in Blue is as fun as it is expressive and as serious as it is silly. Come share the experience of hearing this unique arrangement of the work for piano, strings, and clarinet, along with gems like the Three Preludes, the charming Lullaby for String Quartet, and Embraceable You.
The concert features pianist Daniel Anastasio, praised by The New York Times for his “crisp performance” of a “devilish showpiece,” alongside Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra stars—violinists Jen Betz and Molly Baer, violist DJ Cheek, and cellist Allan Steele with Opus Nova directors Ann Hung and Stas Chernyshev on clarinets.
Address
Steinway Piano Gallery - Fort Worth.
Tickets
Limited tickets available – $65 per person. Reserve tickets HERE
An Evening of Music and Comedy with Isabel Hagen
Isabel Hagen will host and headline an evening cabaret showcasing local talent. Isabel is a stand-up comedian and classically trained violist. As a comic, she has been featured twice on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and was a New Face of Comedy at the Just for Laughs festival in Montreal. Isabel started stand-up right after earning her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in viola performance from the Julliard School.
Location: Gettysburg College’s Majestic Theater, Gettysburg, PA
Tickets HERE
Music Lecture: The Heart of Harmony
The keys composers choose and the chords they use are never an accident. Harmony is an undercurrent that colors the attitude and emotional intentions of their music. Join Daniel as he explains how “wrong” chords, harmonic rhythm, and chord textures steer expressive musical narratives.
Reserve your seat HERE
REDNOTE New Music Festival
REDNOTE New Music Festival
March 25 – 27, 2025
Location: Illinois State University
Unheard-of performs as part of the REDNOTE New Music Festival. Now in its eighteenth season, the RED NOTE New Music Festival at Illinois State University is a week-long event which features outstanding performances of contemporary concert music. Unheard-of will workshop new premieres with festival participants and present instrumental workshops.
Unheard-of Ensemble hosted by APNM
Association for the Promotion of New Music Collaboration
March 14th, 2025, 8:00PM
Location: Greenwich House Music School, New York City
TICKET RESERVATIONS TBA
Join Unheard-of at Greenwich House Music School’s recital hall for a collaboration with the Association for the Promotion of New Music as we perform premieres and recent works from APNM’s call for scores to their membership.
Agarita at the Tobin Center featuring Pablo Sainz-Villegas
Don’t miss world-renowned guitarist Pablo Sáinz-Villegas as he returns to San Antonio for a collaboration with Agarita at the Tobin Center for the Arts. His sheer virtuosity, combined with a natural ability to connect with his music and audiences, make him an unforgettable artist.
Also featuring Max Zorin on violin.
Sunday, March 9, 2024, 3pm. The Tobin Center for the Performing Arts, HEB Performance Hall, 100 Auditorium Cir, San Antonio, TX 78205.
Thank you to Terra Nova Violins and the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts for their generous support.
FREE tickets available 2 weeks prior to the show, agarita.org for tickets.
Lecture at the Agarita Loft
Between the Notes: Sheet music’s unwritten ingredients that give life to music
Join Daniel as he explains the limitations of sheet music as a blueprint for performing, and how unwritten elements of phrasing, rubato, balance, and personal intuition provide the most essential ingredient of all.
FREE tickets are available 1 week prior. Go to agarita.org on from February 20 to reserve a spot.
Note: the Loft is on the 2nd floor and only accessible by stairs. Capacity is limited in this 1300 sq ft space.
FREE parking (less than 1 block away!) for this event has been generously donated by United Way of San Antonio and Bexar County. Please access the southern United Way lot off S. Alamo Street through the entrance on Barrera Street.
Google Maps Parking Pin: CLICK HERE
Unheard-of Ensemble, University of Miami Residency
Unheard-of Ensemble visits University of Miami’s Frost School of Music to perform new premieres by the composition studio, supported by the Society of Composers chapter at U of M.
3Esprit at the San Antonio Chamber Music Society
Newly formed piano trio 3Esprit consists of pianist Daniel Anastasio, violinist Joseph Lin (The Juilliard School faculty), and cellist Raman Ramakrishnan (Bard Conservatory faculty). Join them for an epic program of Beethoven, Kodaly and Dvorak.
www.sacms.org for more information.
Agarita + The Olmos Ensemble
Saturday, January 25, 2025, 7:30pm.
Location: The University of the Incarnate Word, Bennack Concert Hall
In their first collaboration with San Antonio’s Olmos Ensemble, Agarita explores evocative works for mixed ensemble (winds, strings, and piano) that speak to our time and pack a punch. This program includes special arrangements by composer Michael Ippolito of Maurice Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G major, Adagio assai, and Camille Saint-Saens’ Dance Macabre.
FREE tickets available 2 weeks prior to the show.
Thank you to The City of San Antonio for their support of this concert.
Unheard-of//Dialogues
Join Unheard-of Ensemble for the first Dialogues show of 2025 on January 18th, 8:00pm ET at Tenri Cultural Institute, 43A West 13th Street, New York, NY.
In this Dialogues show, we pair newly written movements of Vicki Nguyen's Ginger Flavored Bubblegum and David Crowell's Memories of the Imagined. Nguyen's work explores transcendence from grief by honoring poet, filmmaker, and artist Theresa Hak Kyung Cha - who was murdered only a few days after the publication of her poetic autobiography, "Dictee." Crowell's Memories of the Imagined looks at memory through a multiplicity of approaches to phrasing and temporal expression, shaping the listener’s sense of passing time and its effect on the act of remembering.
Reserve Tickets HERE
New Braunfels Chamber Music Series
Pianist Daniel Anastasio and renowned poet Naomi Shihab Nye craft a unique recital that interweaves poetry and music. Featuring music by Martin Bresnick, Charles Ives, Maurice Ravel, Bill Evans and more.
7pm at the Unitarian Universalists Church of New Braunfels (135 Alves Ln)
Suggested Donation: $20
The Art of Collaboration (with poet Naomi Nye)
Join Daniel and poet Naomi Shihab Nye as they discuss their collaborative process, the power of mixing poetry and music, how dialogues across artistic media can unlock new insights for both artists and audiences, and more. Included will be premiere performances from a new collaborative recital between the two.
FREE tickets 1 week prior available HERE.
Note: the Loft is on the 2nd floor and only accessible by stairs. Capacity is limited in this 1300 sq ft space.
FREE parking (less than 1 block away!) for this event has been generously donated by United Way of San Antonio and Bexar County. Please access the southern United Way lot off S. Alamo Street through the entrance on Barrera Street.
Google Maps Parking Pin: CLICK HERE
Unheard-of Dialogues//Dictée
December 14th, 2024, 8:00PM
Location TBD, New York City
Join Unheard-of for the second Dialogues show of our Fall 2024 season on December 14th, 8:00 PM. In this Dialogues show, we perform a set length version of Vicki Leona Nguyen’s Ginger Flavored Bubblegum. The work transcendence from grief by honoring poet, filmmaker, and artist Theresa Hak Kyung Cha – who was murdered only a few days after the publication of her poetic autobiography, “Dictee.” Using selections of poetry from Dictee, this expanded version explores grief using Unheard-of Ensemble, electronics, and videography by Phong Tran. Phong will open the show with a solo electronics set.
Christmas Baroque Brilliance with CMI
December 11, 7:30pm at the Carlos Alvarez Theater, San Antonio, TX
Celebrate the holiday season with the magic of Baroque music. Enjoy an evening with masterful performances of concerti by Bach, Vivaldi, and Corelli along with the most beloved Christmas carols, inviting all to sing in merriment. Come together in this family-friendly concert and experience the beauty of Baroque music in the spirit of holiday traditions. I will be performing on harpsichord for J.S. Bach’s masterpiece, Brandenburg Concerto no. 5.
TICKETS: https://www.cmi-sa.org/calendar/christmas-baroque-brilliance
Agarita at the McNay Art Museum
Sunday, December 1, 2024. 2pm-3pm in the galleries, 3:15pm in Leeper Auditorium.
6000 N New Braunfels Ave, San Antonio, TX 78209.
For an especially immersive program at the McNay Art Museum, Agarita will perform throughout the museum among the galleries, providing the unique opportunity to understand the art collections in a new way. Visual themes will be paired organically with musical selections, offering an eye- and ear-opening experience.
FREE tickets available 2 weeks prior to the show.