Wimberley concert series supports rising stars

WIMBERLEY — Wanting to bring even more music and cultural enrichment to the community inspired the creation of the Stars Over Wimberley Benefit Concert Series earlier this year.

The series — a collaboration between the Wimberley Valley Arts and Cultural Alliance (WVACA) and the Wimberley Players —  presents four to six special concerts annually, featuring highly accomplished musicians in the intimate 100-seat Wimberley Playhouse setting — where every seat is considered a great seat.

“My husband and I really moved to Wimberley from Dallas — one reason is it's a charming and beautiful town — because of all the arts and the access to live music,” said Denise Renter of Stars Over Wimberley and board member of WVACA.” A group of us were talking one time about ‘How can we bring more music to Wimberley?’ We thought the Wimberley Playhouse would be the best venue in town.”

The series received approval from WVACA and the Wimberley Players earlier this year and the first concert was held on May 17, Renter said. This is the inaugural year and by the end of 2023, there will have been a total of four concerts held.

Founded in 1979 as the city’s first nonprofit, the Wimberley Players present inspiring, entertaining performances and programs that bring a diverse community together through live theatre, events and education. The first shows — produced in a lodge meeting room and school auditorium — are remembered with a smile; lights were hidden in coffee cans and quilts draped from the ceiling to improve sound. Its current location on 450 Old Kyle Rd, just east of the Wimberley Square, welcomed its first audiences in 2006.

WVACA, another nonprofit, was formed in 2013 to promote the Wimberley Valley as a vibrant cultural arts community embracing visual, performing, literary and culinary arts through appreciation, collaboration and education. It has helped Wimberley become one of 48 Texas Cultural Districts recognized by the Texas Commission on the Arts.

Proceeds from the concerts will be shared among the musicians. Underwriters, or donors, also help support WVACA’s Robert Moreman Memorial Scholarship Fund, which is available to graduating seniors from Wimberley High School and Katherine Anne Porter School (KAPS) who display a consistently strong aptitude in and interest in one of WVACA’s four pillars: visual, performing, literary or culinary arts.

“The founder of the Wimberley Valley Arts and Cultural Alliance, Cathy Moreman, and her husband Robert were very instrumental in the community. She was director of the chamber of commerce and he was a local house builder in town. He died suddenly in a car accident,” Renter explained. “And so, we wanted to put a scholarship in place in memory of him and create it so that the Wimberley High School students and KAPS students could have opportunities in higher education for any art or the building trades because Robert was a builder.”

The goal is to fund multiple scholarships of at least $5,000 annually, depending on available funds. Renter said they have raised about $25,000 through the underwriters to support the scholarship fund.

The next concert in the series, and the final one currently scheduled for this year, is at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 22. Renter said they are planning on having a total of six concerts next year and are in the process of lining up artists.

“We have great artists. It's a great listening venue. We have reserved seats, and it's tiered seating, with great acoustics. It's intimate. I guess that's the main selling point, it's an intimate listening room where you can hear great music and support a scholarship fund,” Renter said.

Sarah Jarosz — a four-time Grammy Award winner and a ten-time nominee at the age of 32 — will be performing. She is a Wimberley native who started singing as a young girl and became an accomplished multi-instrumentalist by her early teens. Her music can be described as largely contemporary and progressive bluegrass with a touch of folk.

To learn more about the Stars Over Wimberley Benefit Concert Series, or to purchase tickets for the next show, visit www.starsoverwimberley.org.