Agarita pairs its latest program with the artwork of the San Antonio Museum of Art

The chamber ensemble Agarita, whose name comes from a small Texas-native shrub that produces bright red berries, began as four people playing concerts in houses with their respective instruments — cello, violin, viola and piano.

Five years later, Agarita blossomed into something far larger, presenting concerts across all of San Antonio that often feature dynamic collaborations with local artists and present works by composers from a variety of time periods and regions of the globe.

The ensemble's upcoming concert at the San Antonio Museum of Art, which will take place during the museum's free admission hours, is no exception. As Agarita co-founder and pianist Daniel Anastasio explains, in each of five SAMA galleries, from the Viceregal Latin American to the Contemporary Gallery, the ensemble will play musical pieces that are "carefully curated pairings" which put the museum's artwork in a whole new light.

The three-hour event will feature a wide variety of pieces, ranging from the dense, complex melodies of the early 18th-century Baroque composer Domenico Scarlatti in the ornate Viceregal Latin Am. Gallery to the minimalist, experimental tinkerings of 1947-born composer John Adams in the Contemporary Gallery.

According to Anastasio, guests are free to move from gallery to gallery in whatever order they feel like, since the pieces will be repeated "to allow for a comprehensive listening experience."

The feast for both the eyes and ears will conclude in SAMA's Great Hall at approximately 6:30 p.m. with a performance of two movements from 20th century Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos' String Quartet No. 1.

Free, 4-7 p.m. Tuesday, June 20, San Antonio Museum of Art, 200 W. Jones Ave., (210) 978-8100, agarita.org.

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