To fill gap left in the concert music scene by the San Antonio Symphony's three-month summer hiatus, Stephanie Sant'Ambrogio, the organization's former concertmaster, created the Cactus Pear Music Festival in 1996. Legend has it that Sant'Ambrogio came up with the idea while drinking a Zuni Grill cactus pear margarita on the city's famed
River Walk, and wanted to come up with a festival that matched the drink's color and vibrancy.
Four components throughout the year make up the Cactus Pear Music Festival. The main event of the festival is the CPMF Summer Concert Series. Sant'Ambrogio directs nationally and internationally renowned chamber musicians who are based in San Antonio and surrounding communities. The Young Peoples' Concert Series takes place during the summer festival and is geared toward children ages 8-18, including the Youth Orchestra of San Antonio and children in underserved neighborhoods. The Young Artist Fellowship Program also takes place during the festival season, and provides intensive two-week training fellowships and group performance opportunities for student musicians. The Kinder Konzerts, which takes place during the school year, is a children's concert series directed toward children ages 3 to 10.
The Summer Concert Series' main venue is the Travis Park United Methodist Church, 230 E. Travis St., in San Antonio. For the 2008 season, each of the four concerts in the series is scheduled to take place at Travis Park and at one of four venues in surrounding communities.
The Cactus Pear Music Festival now has an eStore, which features Festival Season tickets, CDs, and note cards. It also features an art auction, which helps support the festival activities.
For more information on the Cactus Pear Music Festival and its art auction, visit
www.cpmf.us.
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