Agarita is an innovative chamber ensemble dedicated to creating bold, collaborative musical experiences, offering a fresh way of engaging with classical and contemporary music. Founded by Daniel Anastasio (piano), Marisa Bushman (viola), Ignacio Gallego (cello), and Sarah Silver Manzke (violin), Agarita nurtures its local community through artistic collaboration, education, community engagement, and adventurous free programming. With concise and eclectic performances described as “splendid: unified, spirited, and exceptionally well prepared” (Greenberg, Incident Light), this young chamber group offers an open and welcoming experience for audiences.

Rooted in San Antonio, Texas, Agarita works closely with local artists from a wide range of disciplines to weave interdisciplinary narratives into each concert. A program with lighting artist Chuck Drew transformed the Granary at the historic Mission San José into a kaleidoscope of colour accompanied by music; another, created with chef Elizabeth Johnson of PharmTable, paired musical selections with dishes served to the audience; and yet another, in collaboration with the educational organisation SAY Sí, integrated spoken poetry by students into the program. Additional collaborators include the McNay Art Museum and the San Antonio Museum of Art; bassist Cameron Beauchamp of the Grammy Award–winning vocal group Roomful of Teeth; poet Laura Van Prooyen; sculptor Danville Chadbourne; members of the Escher String Quartet; jazz pianist Aaron Prado; writer and Guggenheim Fellow Oscar Casares; San Antonio Poet Laureate Andrea “Vocab” Sanderson; the Luminaria Contemporary Arts Festival; glass artist Gini Garcia; composer Nadia Botello (for a concert staged inside a swimming pool); the restaurant Clementine; the City of San Antonio; Opera San Antonio; and many others. These concerts have taken place in 41 unique venues across San Antonio’s 10 districts, all free of charge, making music accessible to the entire community.

Now in its fifth year, Agarita continues to expand its reach and impact. Through large-scale community concerts, outdoor performances using its mobile stage Humble Hall, and its new educational program Agarita Inspires!, the ensemble presents more than 46 concerts annually, including 30 educational programs reaching over 15,000 students, all at no cost.

As a non-profit organisation, Agarita believes that the arts should be accessible to everyone in its community. It presents free public concerts, performs in local schools, and creates opportunities for other artists through its collaborative projects. Upcoming projects and performances can be found at www.agarita.org.

Pablo Sainz-Villegas has been praised by the international press for his «Virtuous and moving performance, with an irresistible exuberance and a range of bright colors» The New York Times

Widely regarded as the most virtuosic guitarist of his generation, Pablo Sainz-Villegas has been acclaimed by the international press as the successor to Andrés Segovia and an ambassador of Spanish culture worldwide. He was the first guitar soloist to perform at Carnegie Hall in New York since Maestro Andrés Segovia in 1983, the first guitarist to perform with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra since 2001, and the first guitarist to appear with the Berlin Philharmonic at the New Year’s Concert since 1983.

Since his debut with the New York Philharmonic under the baton of Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos at Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center, he has performed in more than 40 countries with orchestras such as the Israel Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra, and the Spanish National Orchestra, and in major venues including the Tchaikovsky Concert Hall in Moscow, the Musikverein in Vienna, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing, and Suntory Hall in Tokyo, among many others.

Among his career highlights are the Princess of Asturias Awards Concert and his participation in the Metropolitan Opera Gala at the Palace of Versailles. Particularly noteworthy are his large-scale performances at Madrid’s Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, attended by more than 85,000 people, as well as concerts at Grant Park in Chicago, the iconic Praça do Comércio in Lisbon, and the prestigious Hollywood Bowl with the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

Pablo Sainz-Villegas has received more than 30 international awards, including the Andrés Segovia Award, the Galardón a las Artes Riojanas, the RNE Ojo Crítico Award, and the Trelles Villademoros Prize awarded by the Royal Corps of Nobility of the Principality of Asturias. He holds an Honorary Doctorate from the University of La Rioja and is a member of the Spanish Academy of Performing Arts. He has performed for world leaders such as the Dalai Lama and has given numerous world premieres, including the first work ever written for guitar by John Williams.

A socially committed artist, he is the founder and driving force behind the non-profit organization Strings in Common in the United States, and the creator and artistic director of La Rioja Festival in Spain.

As an exclusive artist with SONY Classical, he has released three albums. His latest project, The Blue Album, was released in June 2023.

Highlights of his 2023/2024 season include a tour of Colombia with the Spanish National Orchestra and Choir, the New Year’s Concert with the Bratislava Metropolitan Orchestra, his debut with the Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by Miguel Harth-Bedoya, appearances at the Dubrovnik Festival and Ljubljana Festival, and his return to Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie, among other performances.

Pablo Sainz-Villegas was born in La Rioja (Spain) and has lived in the United States since 2001.