“The Quilt” Makes Its San Antonio Debut

“The Quilt” Makes Its San Antonio Debut

Cast and crew of “The Quilt” film speak during a Q&A session following the screening premiere. © 2023 Robert Michaelson “The Quilt: A Living History of African American Music”, an educational documentary produced by Musical Bridges Around the World, had a full house for its red carpet premiere at the Jo Long Theatre of the Carver Community Cultural Center. The venue is also the same location where all of the onscreen dialogue and some of the film’s musical performances were filmed, with the rest being captured at Texas Public Radio’s Malú and Carlos Alvarez Theater & Studio. Community is a big...

Kids to Concerts Merges Into Musical Sprouts!

Kids to Concerts Merges Into Musical Sprouts!

Over the course of Summer 2022, Musical Bridges Around the World has made some positive shifts in the Musical Sprouts educational program, which has provided live concerts (or virtual concert films) plus cultural curriculum and learning to students in need. We have finished the five-year Sprouts research study proving its efficacy and are now in the process of expanding the program exponentially with the needs we see in the community. Our first educational program, Kids to Concerts, started in 2001 by providing impactful live concerts in schools. Now as Sprouts continues to grow and provide these same exact live concerts as part of its...

The History of Musical Sprouts

The History of Musical Sprouts

A History by Anya Grokhovski, DMA, MBAW CEO, Founder & Artistic Director The beginning of Musical Bridges Around the World’s educational programs started at the oldest official venue for Mexican culture in the U.S., Instituto Cultural de Mexico. We’ve always had an excellent relationship with this gem of a space in San Antonio. It’s the largest cultural arm of Mexico in the country, outside of Washington, DC. The performance hall seats about 180 people, and our first audiences were children from surrounding schools who walked to the concerts with their teachers. As the series grew, we learned that many schools faced logistical...

25th Anniversary Season of San Fernando Cathedral Announced!

25th Anniversary Season of San Fernando Cathedral Announced!

Musical Bridges Around the World founder Anya Grokhovski says when she moved to the US from the USSR in the ‘90s, she never imagined she would reach 25 years of leading a performing arts organization in South Texas. Her energy and enthusiasm have built a model program “celebrating our share humanity by providing access to global arts for all” through an acclaimed, free concert series, an international music festival, visual art exhibitions, senior concerts, and award-winning educational programing. In this Silver Jubilee year, Musical Bridges is happy to announce its 2022-2023 season of Russell Hill Rogers Musical Evenings at San Fernando...

Remembering Robin Abraham

Remembering Robin Abraham

Pictured left to right: CEO Anya Grokhovski’s mother Zina Khiger, father Yuri Sheykhet (deceased), former father-in law Alexander Grokhovski (deceased), and friend Robin Abraham (deceased). “We are mourning the loss of a dear friend, supporter, and mentor. Robin Abraham was a great friend and a colleague of my parents. They formed a quartet together many years ago. He initiated sustainable support for Musical Bridges Around the World and is the reason my little nieces are growing up in the U.S. and not in Russia. He was the kindest man I knew and we will never forget him.” – Anya Grokhovski, DMA, MBAW CEO &...

D’s on Keys in Pictures!

D’s on Keys in Pictures!

The Rick Cavender Band was just one of the eight acts that performed for the virtual gala supporting the Musical Sprouts educational program. They closed out the show with the well-known 1960s folk-rock song “Get Together”. This year’s D’s on Keys was a resounding success, ensuring thousands of students will continue to have access to engaging learning experiences through global arts and cultures in the Musical Sprouts program. Check out these highlights below from the online premiere as well as some featured brunch watch party pictures. If you missed the premiere, you can watch at mbaw.org/dok or on YouTube now...

What to Expect for D’s on Keys 2022 Virtual Gala

What to Expect for D’s on Keys 2022 Virtual Gala

As you may be aware, Musical Bridges Around the World’s annual gala fundraiser D’s on Keys for 2021 was postponed twice, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But it’s finally happening, virtually this Sunday 5 June at 11 AM CST! This year is free to watch online on the D’s on Keys gala page, or on the Musical Bridges’ YouTube channel. Sponsorship opportunities, as well as a silent auction starting Thursday 26 May at 12 PM CST are also available via the gala page. More info on that below as well. The uniqueness of the gala comes from its performers, who are a mix of respected doctors, executives, professionals,...

Musical Sprouts in UTSA’s Education News

Musical Sprouts in UTSA’s Education News

UTSA’s College of Education & Human Development’s Chris Reichert just published a new online article covering the latest in MBAW’s Musical Sprouts, a FREE educational engagement program providing students the opportunity to travel the world by bringing performing artists and cultural connections to their classrooms. During the past three years, the curriculum portion of the program was also subject to a simultaneous research study put together in partnership with the University of Texas System to determine and prove the impact and efficacy of the program. In this article, Sprouts research assistant and UTSA Department...

D’s on Keys Postponed & Virtual

D’s on Keys Postponed & Virtual

D’s on Keys, which functions as Musical Bridges Around the World’s annual fundraising gala and where executives, professionals, musicians, D’s, MD’s, JD’s, PHD’s share their artistic talents to support MBAW educational programming, has been postponed to a new date on Sunday 5 June 2022 at 11AM. The program will also now be a virtual experience, with the production premiering online that day at mbaw.org/dok and our YouTube channel. The fundraising gala shifted from its original date of Sunday 6 February 2022 at the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts as a response for the safety of attendees during the most recent COVID-19...

What is “The Quilt”?

What is “The Quilt”?

Actress Lauren Hunter onset. (Credit: Rob Michaelson) Film Director Julya Jara and Director of Photography Alejandro Guiterrez adjust the camera on pianist Arlington Jones. (Credit: Manuel Alejandro Hernández Cardona of CMC Studios) The concept arose when MBAW Educational Director Caleb Gonzalez assessed needs from area teachers on which culture they wanted to study in the 2021-22 school year with our programs. At the height of U.S. racial tensions and the Black Lives Matter movement, teachers overwhelmingly expressed interest to bring African American culture into the classroom. We soon realized the project’s importance, recognizing it...

NOTICE: Two Public Events Postponed, Community Programs Also Affected

NOTICE: Two Public Events Postponed, Community Programs Also Affected

Update by Sean Kithas, MBAW Marketing Manager Public Programs & Events Due to the recent COVID-19 spike after the holidays, Musical Bridges Around the World and its event partners have made the decision to postpone the following two (2) public events to a later date (to be determined): Saturday 8 January, 5-8 PM – The Quilt: Behind the Scenes (MBAW Art Gallery Reception) Sunday 16 January, 11 AM – 1 PM – The Quilt: A Community Celebration If you have already registered for free tickets to either of these events, you will still be registered for the new date(s) and will not need to re-register. New registration will not...

Fall 2021 Educational Impact Report

Fall 2021 Educational Impact Report

Report by Jennifer Reed-Martinez, MBAW Director of Community Engagement This fall, over 3,300 students traveled virtually to Ukraine with our Kids to Concerts program, with a concert video (seen below) by renowned Ukrainian musician Jurij Fedynskyj. During the pandemic, this program had to shift from live in-person concerts to virtual concert videos. And now, as schools move back to a mix of virtual and/or in-classroom learning, the program adapts to meet that change again as our January concerts covering the music of African American culture & history will be live in the schools.  In addition, 650 students received five hands-on,...

CEO Receives International Leadership Award!

CEO Receives International Leadership Award!

We are happy to announce that MBAW CEO and Artistic Director Dr. Anya Grokhovski accepted the San Antonio Council of Visitors’ 2021 International Leadership Award. This award highlights Anya’s dedication and contributions to citizen diplomacy in the community. We are so proud of the impact Anya has made in the cultivation of cross-cultural arts programming. This work creates a mutual understanding between the U.S. and other nations around the world. The 2021 Annual Citizen Diplomacy Celebration also featured some familiar faces, with performances by Viatorum ensemble members Dr. Ethan Wickman and Peter Breithaupt. The ensemble...

24th Season of San Fernando Cathedral Announced!

24th Season of San Fernando Cathedral Announced!

Musical Bridges Around the World is happy to announce its return to the historic San Fernando Cathedral for the 2021-2022 season, its 24th! All performances are FREE and open to the public! Seating is first come first served. Safety at the CathedralMBAW will follow all safety and distancing guidelines for fine arts performance halls per the State of Texas, as well any other measures it feels necessary per event from its own discretion for the ensured safety of its attendees. More details about safety guideline details/protocols being enacted will be provided with each concert’s communication and as each date approaches, as per the...