Jazz and beyond is set to fill the Rosette this fall. The 3908 Avenue B venue launches its ATX Music Series this Thursday with a performance by vibraphonist Carolyn Trowbridge’s Quintet.
An 85-seat state of the art theatre best known as the home of Austin Classical Guitar, the Rosette – named for the soundhole decorations on stringed instruments – sits in the historic Baker School in Hyde Park. Founded in the late 19th century but decommissioned in the late 20th, the school was home to Austin ISD’s administrative offices until 2019, when it was sold to Tim and Karrie League. The Alamo Drafthouse founders opened the doors not only to their corporate office, but also to creative design businesses and arts-oriented nonprofits like ACG.
“Having done music in Austin since 1996, I dreamed about having a venue and a space,” explains ACG executive director Dr. Matthew Hinsley. “I struggled with Austin’s well-known venue challenges.”
Fortunately, the ACG director had his friendship with the Leagues in his back pocket. Talk of the Baker Center during pandemic-era bubble dinner chatter led to a field trip.
“I started dreaming about what it would be like to have a theatre in that space,” Hinsley says. “Literally a month later we had the lease agreement.”
Describing the venue, the musician says, “We were going for small and intimate – we wanted you to feel like you were inside of a guitar.”
Credit: Jack Kloecker
Though the Rosette hosts shows from local and international classical guitarists and a growing list of non-ACG related events (including recent jazz shows featuring William Parker’s Mayan Space Station and the Coke/Michel Sextet), the space seems off the radar of Austin music lovers. Hinsley founded the ATX series in order to change that. “I love the idea of the Rosette being a platform for artists to share their work with the community and make money doing it,” he says.
Following the Carolyn Trowbridge Quintet’s performance on Oct. 9, Oliver Rajamani brings his Romani-influenced songwriting to the Rosette, alongside reggae-folk fuser Suzanna Choffel, on Oct. 16. After a break, the Alex Coke and Carl Michel Sextet adds chamber jazz to the series on Nov. 6. Looking ahead, Austin Poet Laureate Zell Miller III and songwriter/musician Daniel Fears present The Love Supreme in December, and the Del Castillo Brothers carry the series into 2026 with a performance on Feb. 5.
Like the ATX Music Series’ diverse lineup, Austin Classical Guitar opens its stage to more than just music, hosting comedy and theater performances at its home venue. “After 30 years of doing this, I don’t see hard, firm lines between genres,” Hinsley says. “I think the real passion for me is real people doing real art in real time. I want the space to be a platform for connection – to the artists’ fans, to new fans – and see where it goes.”
Since its 2022 opening, the Rosette has also been home to many of ACG’s community programs, including adult ensembles, youth orchestras, and workshops – all of which have shown remarkable growth in the last three years. “They doubled in size, and doubled in size again,” Hinsley notes. “It’s a space that feels creative. People want to be there. It’s just a really exciting thing to be part of.”
Patrons be warned, however: The search for the bathrooms in a decommissioned school can be an eerie experience. But it could be worse. “Tim [League] bought a bunch of mannequins at some point and he used to have them around the school in various poses,” Hinsley explains with a wry smile. “If you look hard, you might still find one – he has one out still. But there were many of them, making it even more creepy to go and find the bathroom.”
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