Everything Nac

The Children’s Performing Arts Series at Stephen F. Austin State University will present two performances of “The Jungle Book” on Thursday, May 16, in W.M. Turner Auditorium on the SFA campus.

Virginia Repertory Theatre’s production of “The Jungle Book” is based on the classic tales by Rudyard Kipling. The book and lyrics are by Scott Wichmann, and music is by Julie Fulcher-Davis. Kipling wrote The Jungle Books collection of stories more than 100 years ago, but his classic tales are still being reproduced on the stage and in the cinema.

The story is set in the jungles of southern India, where a baby is discovered and raised by a pack of wolves. Mowgli, the boy, has a life full of adventure and conflict. Mowgli’s best friends are a bear named Baloo and a black panther named Bagheera. The notorious tiger, Shere Khan, is a force to be reckoned with in the jungle.

“Kipling’s story of Mowgli’s childhood adventures in the jungle reinforce respect for life, both animal and human, and the idea of harmony among all living things,” said Diane Peterson, manager of the SFA Fine Arts Box Office and director of the children’s series.

The show targets children in kindergarten through fifth grade. Study guides provide suggestions for pre- and post­ performance activities and discussions for teachers to use in the classroom. A comprehensive study guide for “The Jungle Book” may be accessed at cpas.sfasu.edu.

Performances are at 9:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. in Turner Auditorium, which is located in the Griffith Fine Arts Building. Tickets are $7.50 for individuals and $6 per person for groups of 20 or more.

To order tickets, call (936) 468-6407 or (888) 240-ARTS. Visit the CPAS website at cpas.sfasu.edu for additional information.

The Wind Symphony at Stephen F. Austin State University will present a concert that recognizes dances from around the world when the student ensemble performs at 7:30 p.m. Monday, May 6, in W.M. Turner Auditorium on the SFA campus.

“Solitary Dances” will feature works by Warren Benson, John Barnes Chance, Percy Grainger, Alfred Reed, Henry Fillmore and other composers, according to Dr. Tamey Anglley, associate director of bands at SFA and director of the Wind Symphony.

The concert will open with Chance’s iconic wind band piece “Incantation and Dance.” Originally premiered as “Nocturne and Dance” in 1960, Chance omitted 31 measures and changed the title to depict a ritual of magic or conjuring of spirits, according to Anglley.

The ensemble will perform Part I of Reed’s “Armenian Dances.” Parts I and II constitute a four-movement suite for band based on authentic Armenian folk songs from the collected works of Gomidas Vartabed, who is considered the founder of Armenian classical music.

Grainger’s lesser-known band arrangement of “Rustic Dance” is the second of a five-movement suite for orchestra called “Youthful Suite.” The band setting was arranged by Mark Rogers in 2008 for Poteet High School in Texas to perform at the TMEA state convention as honor band, Anglley said.

Also on the program is Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Norman Dello Joio’s “Satiric Dances.” Written in 1975, the piece was commissioned to commemorate the Bicentennial of April 19, 1775, the day that launched the American War for Independence, or the Revolutionary War. Dello Joio, then dean of Boston University’s School for the Arts, agreed to do the commission.

“But he stipulated it would be based on a piece he had used as background music for a comedy by Aristophanes,” Anglley explained. “The most famous comic dramatist of ancient Greece, Aristophanes was born an Athenian citizen about 445 B.C. His plays commented on the political and social issues of 5th century Athens and frequently employed satire.”

Other works include Warren Benson’s “The Solitary Dancer” and Dmitri Shostakovich’s famous “Folk Dances,” which includes several Russian folk melodies strung together one after the other as it accelerates to a big finish, Anglley said

The final piece will be Fillmore’s “The Footlifter March.” During the Depression of 1929, the Fillmore Band was very popular and gave huge boosts of morale to their radio show audience.

“Fillmore wrote this march at the request of one of the sponsors of the radio program to tie into their advertising slogan, and, after hearing the new piece, called it a ‘footlifter,'” Anglley said.

The concert is a presentation of the College of Fine Arts and School of Music. Tickets are $8 for adults, $6 for seniors and $3 for students and youth. For tickets or more information, call the SFA Fine Arts Box Office at (936) 468-6407 or visit www.finearts.sfasu.edu.

The bands at Stephen F. Austin State University will present the annual Concert in the Park Sunday, May 5, in the wooded area along Vista Drive and in front of the Wright Music Building on the SFA campus. The concert begins at 2 p.m. and is free to the public.

All four SFA concert bands will perform, including the Wind Ensemble, directed by Dr. David Campo, director of bands at SFA; the Wind Symphony, directed by Dr. Tamey Anglley, associate director of bands; Symphonic Band, directed by Chris Kaatz, assistant director of bands; and University Band, directed by graduate student conductor Gary Jones.

A meeting of the Lumberjack Band Alumni Association will be held in the Band Hall following the concert.

Kappa Kappa Psi and Tau Beta Sigma, honorary band service fraternity and sorority, will sell hamburger plates beginning at 1 p.m. Plates are $5 each and will include a burger, chips and beverage.

For more information, call the SFA Fine Arts Box Office at (936) 468-6407 or (888) 240-ARTS or visit www.finearts.sfasu.edu.