KPAC Blog

In 1982 I was pushed into a chair in front of a microphone to back announce Bach's "Brandenburg Concerto No. 3."  Back then, KPAC was brand new, and had four turntables, reel to reel machines, and a small staff. With no university or college to support us, bringing classical music to San Antonio was a gamble from the get - go. Here are some of my favorite musical moments of the last three decades.

Franz Schubert had great friends, and he needed them. His father wanted him to teach school, but Franz was built to compose music, and what started as a family hobby turned into an all consuming passion. Giving up his teaching job, Schubert turned to his friends, and with their help he was allowed, slowly and painfully, to become the artist he knew himself to be.

At one time Franz Josef Haydn had the best and worst job in the world. From his earliest youth he had found his way into the employ of the Eszterhazy family. Once he settled in, and with the exception of the rare argument, this arrangement (1761-1802) continued into his final retirement from ill health. He started with Prince Paul Anton (Pal Antal 1711-1762) first as assistant Kapellemeister and then the top post. But after that patron’s death his real compositional life began.

Classical Favorites like the Messiah and Manneheim Steamroller on tap

Christmas Through the Ages shows many of sides to the Symphony of the Hills. They will play the first portion of 'The Messiah,' selections by Mannhein Steamroller's Chip Davis as well as A Canadian Brass Chrsitmas. Classical masterworks of Vaughan-Williams and Samuel Barber also round out the program at the Callioux Theater on Thursday, December 6 at 7:30 p.m..

Have you ever wondered whether music conductors actually influence their orchestras?

They seem important. After all, they're standing in the middle of the stage and waving their hands. But the musicians all have scores before them that tell them what to play. If you took the conductor away, could the orchestra manage on its own?

This month, KPAC is celebrating thirty years of broadcasting. Our hosts are having some fun sharing "30 lists" - artists, music, movies, and recordings you might enjoy, that help shape the sound of your classical oasis.

It's true — opera is totally over the top. Plots can strain even the barest semblance of credulity (too many cases of ghosts and mistaken identities to count), with characters that could get you thrown out of an introductory writing course, down to the blushing ingenues and the evil connivers who might as well be twirling waxed mustaches.

The Children's Chorus of San Antonio performs at Concordia Lutheran Church

It's a new location for Winter Magic with the Children's Chorus of San Antonio! "Our numbers have grown this year which is absolutely wonderful, but we needed a larger space," says Marguerite McCormick.

"We combine the choirs in a couple of different ways - sometimes two or three of the training choirs will sing together, sometimes the advanced choirs will sing together, and then we do feature all seven choirs; all 250 plus children in this concert!"