For three decades, Cactus Pear Music Festival has brought world-class chamber music to San Antonio—cultivating a deep love for the art form through accessible performances, imaginative programming, and meaningful educational initiatives. Founded in 1997 by Stephanie Sant’Ambrogio, CPMF has grown into a vibrant cultural presence, sustained by a devoted audience and a shared belief that great music should be available to all.
As we celebrate our 30th anniversary season, we look forward with The Infinite Horizon—a season devoted to transformation, renewal, and boundless possibility. Across two weeks, each program explores moments of change: beginnings and endings, tradition and reinvention, loss and transcendence, elegance and exuberance.
Classical music encounters new sounds, new rhythms, and new possibilities:
Darius Milhaud — La création du monde, Op. 81
William Grant Still — Suite for Violin and Piano
Ragtime (with members of the New England Ragtime Ensemble)
Milhaud’s La création du monde draws on jazz and African musical traditions to create something entirely new—one of the earliest and most compelling fusions of classical and jazz idioms. William Grant Still’s music brings lyricism, elegance, and a distinctly American voice to the program. The second half turns to ragtime itself, with works by Scott Joplin, James Scott, and others, performed by members of the legendary New England Ragtime Ensemble alongside festival artists.
Tickets are FREE — reserve your seat!