Start marking the calendar:  April 29 is the next concert for The Symphony of the Hills in the Cailloux Theatre at 7:30 p.m. Several Schreiner University faculty members and students perform with the orchestra, and my own work-study student and research assistant, Kristen Jetton, plays French Horn. Tickets are $15 and students are free. Tim Summerlin and Frank Collins are members of the Symphony of the Hills board; David Byrne, Bob Holloway, Charlotte Marrow and Jennifer Sadow are faculty members who perform. Kristen Jetton, from Austin, is one of the students who performs. She told me, “I’ve been playing French Horn since I was very young. I chose it because it was pretty then found out it was one of the most difficult instruments to play.” Seems most sounds are made by the mouth since only three notes exist on the horn. Afton Sands plays violin, and several other students play in the percussion section.

  April 23 is “The Marriage of Great Things,” 7:00 p.m., at the First Presbyterian Church. This performance is a celebration of the role that poetry plays in music. Selections range from 16^th century Renaissance masterworks to provocative modern compositions. Paying tribute to national poetry month, Craig Hella Johnson and Conspirare “honor and explore the mystic and bountiful relationship between words and music.” See www.consirare.org for more information. My students in my world literature class have just delivered at least ten lines of poetry that each memorized for the class. April is International Poetry Month.  We will finish up the semester watching a film on Garcia Lorca, a tribute to the power of poetry in the world.

  Monday, April 26, Melt Down Mondays at the Inn of the Hills features the Lost Trailers, a new band discovered, perhaps, by Pat Green. Randy Rogers is the host of this new musical opportunity in Kerrville. Listen to KRVL for details.

  John T. Floore Country Store showcases Guy Clark on April 23 and James McMurtry on April 24. Now that’s a weekend of Texas music history.

  Peter Rowan is playing the Old Number 9 concert on Saturday night, April 24, in Waring, Texas. That concert during the songwriting weekend is open to the public.

  The official Texas Music Industry Guide, a brilliant publication put out by the Texas Music Office, headed up by journalist turned administrator, Casey Monahan, is available for $23 and is a “must” for anyone working in any aspect of the Texas music scene. This is the 14^th edition of a guide to our state’s vast musical resources. And Casey is the vision and guiding hand behind this project. His years as journalist and first class writer serve him well. Mail your check to Texas Music Office, PO Box 13246, Austin, TX 78711. See www.gorvernor.state.tx.us/music for more information.

  Graham Warwick, of Smith and Warwick, will be playing the Comfort Little Theatre on April 23, 24, 30, and May 1. Ponty Bone is the featured musical guest on opening night, April 23. Go to www.comfortnews.com for details. I’ve heard about this annual event for years. I know it’s part of the area myth. Many have attended so many years that they become part of the performance. I even heard that Hondo Crouch had a part in the show at one time. I know Ponty Bone delivers, having just heard him showcase for Loudhouse Records at South by Southwest in Austin. At Jovitas on South Lamar. Ponty rocks!

  I spent Easter in Mexico after presenting a paper on women in Texas music and the National Pop Culture Conference in San Antonio. San Miguel de Allende is the perfect place for the full Easter experience. The processions, pageantry, music, sights and smells assault the senses in real and beautiful ways. They know the “passion” of Christ in ways we cannot understand. Octavio Paz speaks of this in LABRYINTH OF SOLITUDE, his classic story on the Mexican character. I experienced that in ways I can’t understand. This is the way I want to spend every Easter. I’ll be teaching a class on global issues in San Miguel May 11-27 for Schreiner University.

Happy Trails and down the road.