Museum’s piano performances please attendees
Pianists Jo Ingram (left) and Cindy Woodland prepare to perform at Bandera’s Natural History Museum earlier this month. BULLETIN PHOTO/Tracy Thayer
The Bandera Natural History Museum sponsored two performances by local pianists Cindy Woodland and Jo Ingram on Saturday, February 12.
The program was composed of pieces that were performed by two pianists at one piano. The musical compositions were all selected to complement the gallery of large New Spanish artworks in the new section of the museum.
The high ceilings and low lighting were the perfect venue for such an artistic musical performance. About 45 people attended each performance.
The program was filled with traditional well-known compositions from world renowned composers. The ladies started with “My Bold Argentina” by Kevin Costley, a contemporary composition with tango-like melodies. Then they played a folk classic “Manzanillo,” arranged by Alfred G. Robyn. Two movements, “Cordoba” and “Andalucia” were taken from Ernesto Lecuona’s Spanish suite, Andalucia. These popular tunes were crowd pleasers.
After a brief intermission, the musicians returned to play the ever-popular Spanish fantasy “Granada” by Agustin Lara. A delightful medley of three traditional Spanish Christmas carols came next in the program. To end the performance, a medley of major themes from the opera “Carmen” by Georges Bizet capped off the performance.
The musical performance and the wine tasting were a wonderful opportunity to visit the new galleries containing art from New Spanish artists. The three galleries contained paintings, polychrome sculptures, silver, Talavera pottery, ivories and furniture from 1521 until the early 1800’s. Starting the exhibit was a diorama of a Spanish galleon designed to show the functions of each deck with a detailed display of figures.
The audience was clearly enthusiastic about the performance by Woodland and Ingram. Next the crowd was treated to a wine tasting by Lost Draw Cellars of Fredericksburg. Three wines were featured, a white, a rose and a red. Master of ceremonies Sully Woodland highlighted the descriptions of the wines with each pour.
“This was a special performance in a wonderful setting,” Bandera resident Sandy Russell remarked.
Her neighbor Judy Wilkirson added, “I really enjoyed this performance. I saw it mentioned in the Bulletin and on a flyer at the Post Office. I had never been here before, although I live just a short distance from here.”
The Bandera Natural History Museum is located at 267 Old San Antonio Highway in Bandera. It is open from 10 AM until 5 PM Wednesday through Sunday. Adult tickets are $12, and children are $7. Children ages 3 and under are free. For more information, go to https://banderanhm.org/visit/ or find them on Facebook.