Mission

Agarita nourishes the local community through artistic collaborations, education, community engagement, and free, adventurous programming. Founded by four musicians rooted in San Antonio, Agarita is devoted to reaching new audiences by reinventing the concert experience. 

From San Antonio, Agarita provides world-class, innovative performances for San Antonio, in San Antonio, and with San Antonio.

Biography

An innovative chamber ensemble dedicated to producing bold, collaborative musical events, Agarita offers a new way to experience classical and contemporary music. Founded by Daniel Anastasio (piano), Marisa Bushman (viola), Ignacio Gallego (cello) and Sarah Silver Manzke (violin), Agarita nourishes the community through artistic collaborations, education, community engagement, and free, adventurous programming. With concise, eclectic performances that are “splendid – unified, spirited, [and] well prepared” (Greenberg, Incident Light), the young chamber group offers a new, open-armed experience for listeners.

Rooted in San Antonio, Texas, Agarita works intimately with artists of various genres to weave cross-artistic narratives for each concert, all accessible and free of charge to the community, in a bi-lingual format. Every program is unique: one concert with award-winning chef Elizabeth Johnson paired musical selections with dishes for the audience. Another with acclaimed poet Naomi Shihab Nye interwove her poetry readings with musical works inspired by her poetry. Writers, photographers, dancers, sculptors, lighting artists, art museums, and even a glassblower– Agarita is unafraid to pursue collaborations that challenge the concert medium to craft innovative, inspiring musical experiences. In terms of collaboration with other musicians, Agarita has performed with internationally acclaimed artists, including guitarist Pablo Sáinz Villegas, cellist Santiago Cañón-Valencia, bass singer Cameron Beauchamp from the Grammy Award-winning group Roomful of Teeth, members of the Harlem, Parker, and Escher String Quartets, and many more.

In its 6th year, Agarita continues to expand its scope, reach, and impact. Between large-scale community concerts, outdoor shows with its mobile concert hall, the Humble Hall, and its new educational program Agarita Inspires!, Agarita is giving 50+ concerts across the year, including 36 educational programs for more than 15,000 young students— all free of charge. Agarita is honored to be supported by local organizations that believe in its mission, including the San Antonio Area Foundation, the City of San Antonio, H-E-B, the Greehey Family Foundation, NuStar Energy, the Texas Commission for the Arts, Impact San Antonio, and hundreds of individuals. As a nonprofit organization, Agarita believes that the arts should be accessible to everyone in its community. Follow Agarita’s upcoming projects and future performances at www.agarita.org or for any questions, email agaritachamberplayers@gmail.com.

Founding members