Everything Nac

The Stephen F. Austin State University School of Music and its Friends of Music Concert Series will present “Zodiacal Light,” a faculty chamber recital, at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 5, in Cole Concert Hall on the SFA campus.

The recital will feature Christina Guenther, flute; Christopher Ayer, clarinet; Lee Goodhew, bassoon; and Ron Petti, piano. They will perform works by Heitor Villa-Lobos, Roger Zare, Kyle Hovatter and Daniel Dorff.

Villa-Lobos was considered one of the most prominent Brazilian composers of the 20th century, according to Guenther. He synthesized Brazilian folk idioms with Western art music techniques to create a unique nationalist style. He composed his set of nine Bachianas Brasileiras (Brazilian Bach pieces) between 1930 and 1945 upon his return from Europe. These neoclassical compositions sought to link Brazilian popular music to Baroque harmonic and contrapuntal procedures, according to program notes by Amanda Cook.

Zare is an American composer and pianist. His “Zodiacal Light” was commissioned by the Flute and Clarinet Duo Consortium in 2018. Each movement is based on rare and awe-inspiring events that light up the night sky. The Aurora Borealis, or Northern Lights, is the inspiration for the first movement. The second movement, False Dawn, is a reference to the composition’s title. The Zodiacal Light is a luminous cone that appears along the ecliptic, or the line along which the sun moves throughout the year.

“Frequently during the movement, the flute, clarinet and later the piano sound create an aural representation of the meteors with quick rising gestures,” Zare writes of the piece. “The music alternates between a rapid fluid moto perpetuo and a more stilted but still energetic imitative texture. Towards the end, the flowing theme from the first movement returns. It is paired with the stilted texture at first, and finally stated in a grandiose manner. One final upward rush of meteors brings the work to a close.”

Hovatter’s works span orchestral, choral, chamber and electronic genres. Like much of Hovatter’s music, “Mutation from ‘The Cascades,'” (written in 2016) is rhythmically driven, according to Guenther.

“Almost incessant murmurings and surprising accents with constant interplay between the three instruments throughout the majority of the trio give way to a slower section with lush piano chords, culminating in a playful, very rag-like ending,” she said. “The keen listener will hear that this piece is based off of ‘The Cascades,’ a rag by Scott Joplin.”

Dorff’s “Three Romances” was composed “by accident” in several stages, he said. Throughout the summer of 2006, Dorff was mainly focused on writing a lengthy piano concerto.

“One day in July 2006, a frisky-sounding duet for flute and clarinet just popped out,” he writes. “It was a complete movement, but too short to be a stand-alone composition, so I decided to write a few more companion movements.”

Recital 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.

Stephen F. Austin State University’s SFA Gardens will host a floral design workshop to share methods for creating artistic flower arrangements.

The event will run from 9 a.m. to noon March 9 in the Brundrett Conservation Education Building, Room 101, at the SFA Pineywoods Native Plant Center, located at 2900 Raguet St.

Jordan Cunningham, SFA Gardens greenhouse technician, will explore the principles of floral design including shapes, colors, materials and construction.

“With a bit of basic knowledge and your own creativity, making floral arrangements can be simple and enjoyable,” Cunningham said. “You can apply the principles to a wide variety of materials, including cut flowers and greenery from your own garden.”

Participants will create their own floral arrangement to take home. All materials will be provided.

Cost for the seminar is $25 for SFA Garden members and $35 for non-members. Space is limited and pre-registration is required. To register for the seminar or for more information, contact the SFA Gardens education office at (936) 468-4129 or sfagardens@sfasu.edu.

Jacob Spies of Douglass and Kristine Cross of Houston have been selected as the 2019 Mr. and Miss SFA. The two Stephen F. Austin State University students will be honored during halftime of the SFA men’s basketball game against Sam Houston State University March 9 at 4:30 p.m.

The Mr. SFA title was established in honor of the late Stan McKewen, a 1934 SFA graduate. The Miss SFA title was established in honor of Arnodean Covin, who was named Miss SFA in 1940, 1941 and 1942.

Spies, who received the Stan McKewen Mr. SFA Award, is a senior accounting major. A 2016 graduate of Douglass High School, he is the son of Mark and Stephanie Spies of Nacogdoches.

He currently serves on the executive board for Beta Alpha Psi, an accounting honor society. Previously, he served as president of the Alpha Gamma Rho fraternity at SFA and as vice president for membership development. He has worked as a student assistant for the Department of Residence Life for the past year, as well as a Jack Camp counselor and has been involved with the Order of Omega, a Greek Life honor society.

Spies received the SFA Academic Excellence, AGC of Texas and White Electric scholarships. He also received the Temple Inland scholarship for excellence in accounting. Spies is enrolled in the Bachelor of Business Administration and Master of Professional Accountancy five-year program and hopes to one day serve as a chief financial officer.

Saville Harris, assistant director of student engagement, who nominated Spies for the award, said, “Jacob has a passion for working with and serving others, often challenging them to be the best they can be. He is a dedicated leader and as a result, I have yet to see him get discouraged or give up, even when the result is not what he anticipated.”

Cross, who received the Arnodean Covin Miss SFA Award, is a senior majoring in food, nutrition and dietetics. A 2015 graduate of Elkins High School, she is the daughter of Leslie W. Cross Jr. of Houston.

Cross has been involved on campus since her arrival, initially enrolling in the Freshman Leadership Academy and later serving as a student instructor for the program, which is a specialized section of the university’s SFA 101 freshman success seminar. She currently serves as vice president of the Student United Way, where she is responsible for fundraising and recruiting other students to volunteer for events supporting the Nacogdoches United Way. She also is an Orientation student coordinator, and she previously served two summers as an Orientation leader, where she helped students transition from high school to college life. She also was a counselor for SFA’s extended orientation program, Jack Camp.

Cross received the President’s Volunteer Service Award in 2017 for volunteering more than 250 hours during an eight-month period. She plans to attend graduate school and study student affairs and higher education.

Veronica Beavers, director of multicultural affairs at SFA, who nominated Cross, said, “Kristine’s impact has been remarkable. Throughout her time at SFA, she has grown in her passion for working in the areas of social justice, diversity and multiculturalism. She has developed a strong appreciation for all aspects of diversity at SFA.”

The Mr. and Miss SFA titles are annually presented by the SFA Office of Student Affairs Programs and the alumni association to exemplary students who well represent and promote the univeristy. Recipients are selected based on their scholarship, participation and leadership in academic and co-curricular activities, and service and loyalty to the university. Selections are made by a committee of faculty, staff, community leaders and alumni.

Please contact (936) 468-7249 or visit www.sfasu.edu/studentaffairs and www.sfaalumni.com for more information.

A concert by pianist Hai Jin originally scheduled for Friday night, Feb. 22, in Cole Concert Hall on the Stephen F. Austin State University campus has been canceled due to inclement weather affecting the artist’s travel plans.