San Antonio dance band on KENS 5 Saturday Morning News

The people at KENS 5 Eyewitness News featured Groove City Band on their newscast the morning of Saturday, May 23.  This is Groove City's first TV appearance.    You can see it in full in the video clip above, edited by our multi-talented saxophonist, Paul Croteau.  Thanks, Paul!

Max and Jonathan wait for their cue!

Being on TV was a lot of fun, especially the part where we had to be there at 6:30am  :-)

Erica and Ivette, ready for their close-up!

Warming up before the show starts...

Jose and the guys lounging on the couch, during the weather segment.

Donald Braswell of America's Got Talent and San Antonio's Allegretto Music

Sunday, June 7th, Donald Braswell put on a concert to benefit SAMM Ministries, which helps thousands of homeless people in San Antonio improve their lives.  The concert was held on a Sunday afternoon at Concordia Lutheran Church.  Donald featured his "New Chapter Band", with Anthony Bazzani, Dan Dreeben, Joe Gonzales, and Jim Kalson.  And for this concert, the singer wanted to give his music added depth and emotion.  That is why he incorporated a quartet of Allegretto Music string musicians.  The quartet featured 2 violins, a cello and harp.  

Donald Braswell, the New Chapter Band and Allegretto strings onstage

The selections included a wide range of musical styles.  There were pop songs in classical style, like those made famous by tenor Mario Frangoulis.  There was a soulful rendition of "Change If Gonna Come" in the style of singer Seal.  

The concert also featured Donald's very talented singing family members: mother, father, sister and daughters.  A la "Sound Of Music" they even sang the musical's popular "Edelweiss".

Allegretto Strings onstage at Concordia Lutheran

Donald Braswell signs autographs after his performance

San Antonio Variety Band donates Fiesta prize money to St. PJ's Children's Home

the giant check, before we handed it over!

San Antonio's Groove City Band was awarded the first prize as Fiesta's Best Band, for the Texas Cavaliers River Parade.  The honor came with a $2500 award.  The band chose to award their prize money to St. Peter St. Joseph Children's Home in San Antonio.  This is a home that cares for abused and abandoned children, as well as offering family counseling and other services for distressed families in the city.

The presentation was made the morning of May 19th, in front of the Fiesta Commission offices, during a press conference.  Erica Gonzaba (Miss Fiesta 2005), who sang with the band during the parade, Ivette and Jose Irizarry answered questions from the press.

Jose, Ivette and Erica at the press conference

After the press conference, the band answered questions and gave interviews to local news channels

Groove City Band members and Erica Gonzaba with the giant check!

Heart Ball San Antonio - 25th Anniversary Gala

25th Anniversary - Silver Gala - Heart Ball San Antonio

Groove City Band rocks the house !!!!

Friday, May 8, 2009 was the 25th anniversary of Heart Ball in San Antonio, Texas.  This was the first time that Groove City Band was invited to be a part of this celebration.  The Heart Ball is San Antonio's most prestigious charity gala.  It is also the American Heart Association's annual bash, where they can highlight their accomplishments and raise funds for future research to combat heart disease.

This year, Randy Beamer from News 4 WOAI was the Master of Ceremonies.  The evening started out with a silent auction in the foyer of the Grand Hyatt San Antonio Hotel.  Dinner followed, then a live auction.

At $250 per ticket, the American Heart Association did a fabulous job of raising funds for their charity before the evening even started.  The ballroom was packed, with over 300 in attendance.  

After the live auction, it was time to dance!  Groove City did a great job of getting the guests on the dance floor.  We had heard that last year everyone left early, and that they usually did.  Well, this year we were focused on breaking that pattern!  At the end of the night, people did not want to leave!  Everyone was dancing and singing along, requesting songs and having a great time.  Mission accomplished.  After all, you can't call it a ball if there is no dancing!

While we played, our band logo was displayed on two giant screens.  Here is a pic of Jose, keyboard player, band director...... and photographer!  :-)

At the end of the night, we were beat, but it had been a great night indeed.  Here is a shot of the moon behind our Tower of the Americas.  The Grand Hyatt's loading dock has the best view in the city.  ha, ha

The Best San Antonio Band takes FIRST PLACE at the Fiesta River Parade

Groove City Band wins First Place for the Best Band at the

TEXAS CAVALIERS RIVER PARADE

Monday, April 20 Groove City accompanied reality TV star and San Antonio singing sensation, Erica Gonzaba, who was herself crowned Miss Fiesta in 2005.  Erica and Groove City took part in the Texas Cavaliers River Parade, on San Antonio's Riverwalk.  This is the one parade in the country where the floats really do FLOAT!  The parade consists of 48 floats, and each has its own theme and live musical entertainment.  Groove City provided music for the Fiesta Royalty Float, where all the Fiesta queens are!

Groove City with the Fiesta Queens: Miss San Antonio, Miss Fiesta 2009, Queen of Soul, Miss Charro Queen, Paul Croteau (sax), Miss Fiesta 2005 Erica Gonzaba (vocals), Jose Irizarry (keyboard), Ivette Irizarry (percussion/backups), Jonathan De La Garza (drums)

The parade started in the Municipal Auditorium area at about 7:30pm.  Ours was by far the best-looking float.  The formula: take barge, stick smiling beauty queens on top and voila, your float looks great!  The float, sponsored by the Fiesta Commission had the theme TEXAS ROCKS!  It was decorated in yellow, with a big arch with musical notes (you have to hold on to something!) and two giant heads that we are guessing were Buddy Holly and Stevie Ray Vaughn.  

As part of the River Parade, there is a contest with two categories: 'Best-looking Float' and 'Best Band'.  On Thursday, April 23 we were notified that the Fiesta Royalty Float won the award for the best band!  

The parade was a huge success for the TEXAS CAVALIERS.  There were over 250,000 people in the audience at the parade.  In all, over $300,000 were raised for 40 local charities.  

Mis Fiesta 2005, singer, Erica Gonzaba

The parade was a lot of fun for us.  People waived and cheered.  They danced and they sang along with us as we floated by.  The spectators pelted us with beads, flowers and cascarones, and we threw things back at them too!

Ivette and Jose having fun

Jose helps Miss San Antonio, Alanna Sarabia onto the barge

Jose with Mark Cavender, our very own Cavalier

Oops! We did it again! -- Allegretto Music voted 2009 Best Of Weddings pick

Allegretto Music is the best choice for wedding music in San Antonio.  For the second year in a row, we are proud to announce that Allegretto Music has been rated by local brides and voted The Knot Best of Weddings 2008/2009 Pick.  Allegretto was voted #1 in two categories: Wedding Ceremony Music (www.allegrettomusic.com) and Wedding Reception Music (www.groovecityband.com).  In the category of reception music we received the highest possible rating of 3 stars, meaning that we go above and beyond for our clients.  

At Allegretto Music, we love what we do!  Each and every bride is so important to us.  Your wedding is a day like no other.  You expect it to have a magical feel, and it is really important for us to be a part of creating that magic.  

We thank God for the blessing of being able to do what we love for a living.  And we especially thank all of our wonderful brides who voted and helped make us #1 again.

When it comes to the music for your Wedding in San Antonio, accept NO IMITATIONS!!

If you have browsed the webpages of live music providers in San Antonio lately, you may have noticed that some of them look suspiciously similar to ours, www.allegrettomusic.com.  That is no accident!!  They say "imitation is the sincerest form of flattery".  And here at Allegretto Music, we are feeling really flattered lately.  But when it comes to the music for your wedding, accept no imitations.  As with any other service you are seeking for one of the most important days of your life, you want the real deal.  That is Allegretto Music.

Allegretto is the favorite among SA couples - Allegretto Music is the undisputed leader among San Antonio couples for all types of music services related to your wedding celebration.  Our company has been rated by local brides and voted The Knot Best Of Weddings 2008 Pick.  Allegretto was rated as the best in two categories: ceremony music and reception music.  In the category of ceremony, we were the only vendor preferred among SA couples.  In the reception category, we received the highest possible rating of 3 stars, which means above and beyond.

The other ensembles in San Antonio purchase and play wedding sheet music published by Allegretto Music - Did you know Allegretto Music writes sheet music for weddings that is sold across the US and other countries?  Jose Irizarry, owner and Musical Director, is an accomplished composer and arranger.  His sheet music publications are distributed by the leading retailer of instruments, music and accessories for string musicians: Shar Products Company.  You can browse his titles online at www.sharmusic.com.  Search for "Irizarry".  Most other string ensembles in San Antonio have purchased our sheet music directly from us to play at weddings locally.  In fact, many wedding string ensembles across the US use music published by Allegretto Music.

The musicians that play as part of Allegretto Music ensembles are true professionals -  Our musical director, Jose Irizarry, has a Master's Degree in Violin Performance from the Mannes College of Music in New York City.  Jose studied with renowned violinist, David Nadien, who was concertmaster for the New York Philharmonic under the direction of Maestro Leonard Bernstein.  Our musicians are hand picked and have ample experience performing for weddings.  We uphold a very high standard of quality.  All of our artists are devoted to their craft.  Most of our classical musicians also play with the San Antonio Symphony, including owner-director, Jose Irizarry.  Our reception musicians are degreed professionals.

Allegretto Music records all of its own music samples - All of our samples are real live samples of Allegretto Musicians.  You may even hear some clinking china and other background noises.  :-)

So as others try to imitate what we do, Allegretto Music continues to set the standard for wedding entertainment.  Call us or email us about your wedding.  We would love to hear from you!!