TOSA | Strum & Folk

The Orchestra San Antonio closes its season with Strum & Folk at the H-E-B Performance Hall on Saturday, June 5, 2027. It's the fourth and final concert of a season built around folk traditions, dances, and cultural stories, and the program pulls from three different eras and continents.

The night opens with Gabriela Ortiz's Kauyumari, followed by Daniel Freiberg's Guitar Concerto. The second half belongs to Antonín Dvořák's Symphony No. 8 in G major, Op. 88, B. 163, which marks its North American premiere. Between the contemporary pieces and a 19th-century staple, the program runs from the modern to the classic, and the Dvořák is the big draw here.

For those who haven't followed them closely, The Orchestra San Antonio (TOSA) has a bit of a story. It was formally established in April 2024 as a rebranded ensemble under the Classical Music Institute, which opened in 2014 as an educational non-profit. TOSA stepped into a civic gap by becoming the resident orchestra for both OPERA San Antonio and Ballet San Antonio after the San Antonio Symphony dissolved in June 2022. Its work now runs through three branches: Chamber Connexions, the education program Ascend, and its signature summer celebration, The 210 Festival.

Music Director Leonardo Pineda took the helm in October 2025; the Voice of San Antonio named him as part of a new generation of conductor-curators redefining the classical music experience. The ensemble numbers around 60 musicians, about ten of whom live in San Antonio, with the rest traveling in from across the United States and Latin America. The concert starts at 7:30 PM at the H-E-B Performance Hall, inside the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts at 100 Auditorium Circle, downtown.