Last Thursday Musical Bridges Art Gallery was the site of its very first private luncheon hosted by San Antonio womens group — Las Amigas.  Approximately 30 guests gathered in the MBAW gallery adorned with pointsettas and christmas trees; enjoying photography, art, and the company of their friends. Several months ago Las Amigas members asked MBAW Artistic Director Dr. Anya Grokhovski to speak in front of the group about her life, experience and the history of MBAW.  Anya decided to surprise the group of 30 guests with a 30-minute piano for four hands program with fellow pianist Alena Gorina. The group received the performance well...

Please join us in welcoming our newest Board member, Adriana Flores! Adriana Flores was born and raised in San Antonio, Texas. She graduated from Texas A&M University at College Station with a Bachelors Degree in English, with minors in History and Marketing. She obtained her Master of Science in Information Studies from the University of Texas at Austin. She worked for the San Antonio Public Library for 10 years and left as a Branch Manager of the Johnston Library to raise her two young children. Her love of literature, music and education returned her to work with her family business, Alamo Music Center. She runs Alamo Music Center...

Musical Bridges Around the World recently completed its African phase of community outreach Kids to Concerts program at no charge to the schools visited.  Originally from Senegal, Africa and New York City, African musicians Abdou Mboup, Mar Gueye, and Craig Rivers performed at 10 schools (Wanke Elementary, Steubing Elementary, Locke Hill Elementary, Oak Meadow Elementary, Red Oak Elementary, McDermott Elementary, Rayburn Elementary, Vestal Elementary, Kriewald Road Elementary and Colonies North Elementary) over four days last week and introduced kids to African culture through music, colorful folk costumes and ethnic instruments.  District...

Musical Bridges Around the World is proud to report its tenth successful segment of Kids to Concerts during the 18th season! Syrian clarinetist Kinan Azmeh and percussionist Shane Shanahan visited 5 San Antonio schools on May 12-13, 2016: East Terrell Hills, Las Lomas, Roan Forest, Stone Oak, and Canyon Ridge. MBAW’s interactive and exciting program incorporated TEKS and STEM curriculum-teaching Syrian culture and geography through music. About 2,500 children learned about rhythm & sound, history, ethnic instruments & arabic language during the 40 minute program. Teachers and students praised the interactive program. One teacher at...

Louis Vega Trevino’s painting reflects a deep understanding of historical precedents. Without any derivative step, he has built upon a number of important, painterly languages to evolve a style that is instantly recognizable as uniquely his own. Trevino’s painting recalls not only the atmospheric color fields of Mark Rothko and Julies Olitski, but also that indeterminate margin where color field interests merge with the geometric and optical abstraction of Gene Davis and Richard Anuszkiewicz. It is in that margin that Trevino’s work finds its form, an area once explored by Morris Louis and which Trevino’s color-charged compositions have...

Musical Bridges’ Art Gallery hosted its third opening of the season on Saturday, June 18, 2016. The opening celebrated “Northern Lights,” by artist Louis Vega Treviño. A constant flow of over 60 guests moved throughout the gallery; enjoying art, wine, hors d’oeuvres, and live jazz by Aaron Prado and Zlatan Redzic. Musical Bridges’ would like to give a special thanks to MBAW Gallerist Julya Jara for all of her hard work coordinating the opening. The exhibit at the Musical Bridges’ Art Gallery will be available for viewing through August 12th. To schedule a visit, please call (210)...

Musical Bridges Around the World is proud to report its eighth successful segment of Kids to Concerts during the 18th season! This segment brought us to five more San Antonio Elementary schools on April 11-12, 2016: Woodstone, Andrew Briscoe, Collins Garden, Neal and Eleanor Kolitz Hebrew Language Academy. Guest artists included: Japanese Koto and Shamisen player Sumie Kaneko, who has been recognized as a pioneer of uniquely chromatic instrumentation; Kaoru Watanabe, a New York based composer and musician who specializes in the Japanese shinobue flutes and taiko drums; and Taiko artist Kenny Endo. The trio are deeply rooted in Japanese...

In the spirit of San Antonio’s 300th birthday in 2018, Musical Bridges’ Artistic Director Anya Grokhovski traveled all the way to Japan in search for guest artists.  The purpose for the two week trip was to get aquainted with Japanese culture and score some new and fabulous talent for the International Music Festival in 2018. The centerpiece of the trip was Anya’s meeting with city officials of Kumamoto – sister city of San Antonio to discuss possible artistic collaborations. Anya met with Japanese musicians everywhere she went and for the grand finale of her trip spent an unforgettable five hours in Tokyo’s...

Musical Bridges Around the World is proud to report its seventh successful segment of Kids to Concerts during the 18th season at no charge to the schools visited! On March 23-24, 2016 the Flying Balalaika Brothers visited six San Antonio Elementary schools: Larkspur, Kriewald Road, Regency Place, Young Men’s Leadership Academy, Bowden and Riverside Park. MBAW’s interactive and exciting program incorporated TEKS and STEM curriculum-teaching the culture and geography of Russia & Ukraine through music.  About 5,000 children learned about rhythm & sound, dance, history, ethnic instruments and Russian language during the 40 minute...

Musical Bridges Around the World provided another free 40 minute concert of its retirement community outreach program, Golden Age to the Alicia Trevino López Senior One-Stop Center on March 24, 2016. Russian Folk Group the Flying Balalaika Brothers brought their uplifting performance to the center and the residents were invigorated! Before the first song was over, the space in front of the musicians was filled with residents dancing along with the music. It didn’t stop there…the space was filled with dancers during the entire 40 minute performance. Many residents asked for MBAW’s contact information to put themselves on the wait list...

Musical Bridges Around the World partnered with Haven for Hope on March 23, 2016, providing a free one hour concert for their community. Russian Folk Group the Flying Balalaika Brothers brought their uplifting performance to the dining hall during dinner hour. Hundreds of people were present for the performance and sang along with many of the melodies played by the musicians. Haven for Hope’s mission is to offer a place of hope and new beginnings. They do this by providing, coordinating and delivering an efficient system of care for people experiencing homelessness in Bear County. We thank them for inviting us to their facility to spread...

Musical Bridges Around the World is proud to report another successful segment of Kids to Concerts during the 18th season at no charge to the schools visited! On February 18-19, 2016 Barynya visited five San Antonio Elementary schools: Bulverde Creek, Herff, Riverside Park, Northern Hills and Raba. MBAW’s interactive and exciting program incorporated TEKS and STEM curriculum-teaching the culture and geography of Russia & Ukraine through music and dance.About 4,000 children learned about rhythm & sound, dance, history, ethnic instruments, traditional clothing and Russian language during the 40 minute program. Each program...

On March 11, 2015, Musical Bridges Around the World (MBAW) traveled to Puerto Rico for Encuentro de Culturas 2015. The idea to create the festival was spearheaded by native Puerto Rican and MBAW Board Member, Dr. Awilda Ramos. About a year ago, Dr. Ramos sat down with Artistic Director, Dr. Anya Grokhovski with a dream of creating a cultural exchange festival with Puerto Rico and together, they made it a reality. Led by Dr. Ramos and Dr. Grokhovski, MBAW’s support team consisted of staff members Executive Assistant Diana Tatu and Vanessa Sanchez along with contractors James Sanders and Clemence Le Saux. Dr. Grokhovski created a spectacular...

Musical Bridges’ Art Gallery hosted its second opening of the 17th season on Friday, February 13th.  The opening celebrated “Unfolding Dimensions,” the first combined exhibit of artists Sandy Whitby and Lauren Browning. A constant flow of over 150 guests moved throughout the gallery-enjoying art, wine, hors d’oeuvres, and live jazz by George and Aaron Prado. Sandy and Lauren’s work attracted many first time visitors to the MBAW gallery; one guest said that it was the best art opening she’s attended in over 20 years. MBAW Board Member Paul Martin was among the first to buy a piece from the opening — he was drawn to...