Everything Nac

Stephen F. Austin State University School of Theatre will host the internationally renowned Shakespeare & Company from Lenox, Maine, in a weekend intensive study of the language and text of William Shakespeare’s works March 8 through 10 on the SFA campus.

Designed to meet the needs of professional actors who seek an introduction to Shakespeare & Company’s training methods as well as alumni who wish to refresh and reconnect with the work, the weekend intensive integrates Linklater Voice instruction, movement and monologue work. Participants will explore ways to unlock the emotional and intellectual content inherent in Shakespeare’s language, yielding a direct relationship between actor and text, according to Cleo House Jr., director of the SFA School of Theatre.

“We are extremely fortunate to have such a renowned company in residence here in East Texas,” House said. “This is an excellent opportunity for teachers needing professional development credit and for young professionals looking to deepen their study of Shakespeare’s text in performance.”

Instructor is Dave Demke, a Shakespeare & Company senior faculty member and a Designated Linklater Voice teacher. He has a B.A. in Theatre Arts from Minnesota State University, Moorhead, and an M.F.A. in performance (devised theatre) from the University of Maryland. From 2000-2010, he served as the associate director of training for Shakespeare & Company. He has also served as the artistic director of Stark Raving Theatre in Portland, Oregon, and as a principle dancer, soloist, choreographer and teacher with Red River Dance Company in Fargo, North Dakota.

As an actor, Demke has appeared in productions at Shakespeare & Company in New York and regionally, as well as performing at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and in Beijing, China. His directing credits include theaters in Portland, Oregon, Shakespeare & Company and Tennessee Shakespeare Company. He has guest directing credits at Purdue University, Skidmore College and Northeastern University. He has guest taught at various universities, as well as at the Linklater Center in New York, the National Theatre of Ghana and 16th St. Studio in Melbourne, Australia.

The weekend intensive is from 7 to 10 p.m. Friday, March 8; from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday, March 9; and from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Sunday, March 10. Tuition is $345. Alumni, union and student discounts are available. For more information or to register, call (413) 637-1199 ext. 114 or visit http://www.shakespeare.org/actor-training/weekend-intensive

The Wind Symphony and Symphonic Band at Stephen F. Austin State University will present the concert program “Journeys” at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 7, in W.M. Turner Auditorium on the SFA campus.

The Wind Symphony, directed by Dr. Tamey Anglley, associate director of bands at SFA, and the Symphonic Band, directed by Chris Kaatz, assistant director of bands, will perform works that represent various types of journeys.

The Symphonic Band will open the concert with Charles Carter’s “Overture for Winds,” followed by Frank Ticheli’s “Earth Song.”

The Symphonic Band will also perform Jan Van der Roost’s “Suite Provençale,” which Kaatz describes as “a musical journey through southeastern France via colorful settings of four folk songs native to the region.”

The first half of the concert closes with the Symphonic Band performing Karl King’s “Hosts of Freedom,” which was written the same year the famous march composer moved to Fort Dodge, Iowa, after years of conducting numerous circus bands.

The Wind Symphony will open the second half of the concert with “Shortcut Home” by Dana Wilson. Written in 2003, Wilson wanted a rousing and elaborate fanfare that featured each section of the ensemble, according to Anglley.

“Drawing upon various jazz styles, the music proclaims and cascades, always driving towards the ‘home’ of the final C major chord,” she explained.

Dr. Christopher Ayer, professor of clarinet in the School of Music, will perform a solo on the clarinet concerto “Auto ’66” by James M. David. About the piece, the composer writes: “The automobile, perhaps more than any other piece of technology, inspires strong emotional reactions in people, and certain cars seem to transcend their role as means of transportation to become works of art. My clarinet concerto is about three such vehicles that were built in 1966. They were chosen for their historical significance, physical beauty and ability to inspire their owners. Further, all three cars have different national origins, which allowed me to draw from the native music for each.” David chose Lamborghini Miura, Mini Cooper S and Pontiac GTO as the three movements for his concerto.

The Wind Symphony will close the concert with John Philip Sousa’s “From Maine to Oregon” march. Based on the recurring march theme from his operetta, “The American Maid (The Glass Blowers),” “From Maine to Oregon” was composed in 1913.

The concert is a joint presentation of the SFA 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 Wind Ensemble at Stephen F. Austin State University will present “Homecoming Fiesta!” when the student group performs the music of Richard Strauss, Frank Ticheli, Paul Hart, Richard Wagner and Clifton Williams at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 5, in W.M. Turner Auditorium on the SFA campus.

Featured guest performers will be the SFA Faculty Brass Quintet, which includes Jake Walburn and Gary Wurtz, trumpets; Charles Gavin, horn; Deb Scott, trombone; and J.D. Salas, tuba.

Directed by Dr. David Campo, director of bands at SFA, the Wind Ensemble will perform “Wiener Philharmoniker Fanfare,” which Strauss wrote to celebrate the first annual Vienna Philharmonic Ball held in 1924. The ensemble will also perform Ticheli’s “Nitro,” which the composer described as “an energy-charged three-minute fanfare for band.” The Northshore Concert Band music director, Mallory Thompson, commissioned the piece in celebration of the band’s 50th anniversary season.

“Nitrogen is the most abundant component of the Earth’s atmosphere and is present in the tissues of every living thing,” Ticheli wrote. “It is the fifth most abundant element in the universe, created by the fusion deep within stars; it has recently been detected in interstellar space. The sheer prevalence of nitrogen in all of nature, and the infinite range of compounds it is part of – life-giving, energizing, healing, cleansing, explosive – all appealed to me, and served as the inspiration for my music.”

Wagner’s opera “Lohengrin” was first performed in 1850 and quickly became a benchmark in German opera. “Elsa’s Procession to the Cathedral” is adapted from Act II, Scene 4 of the opera and was set for wind band by arranger Lucien Cailliet.

Regarding his wind band composition “Cartoon,” Hart remarked, “It’s all here! The big opening credits, the cat and mouse tease and chase, the strutting swagger, and of course the big finale! Best of all, it can all happen in the imagination of the audience, not on the film screen.”

“A nod to the classic cartoon soundtracks of the 1950s and ’60s, this work is pure fun,” Campo said.

The concert closes with Williams’ “Symphonic Dance # 3, Fiesta,” originally one of his five Symphonic Dances commissioned by the San Antonio Symphony Orchestra to celebrate its 25th anniversary in 1964.

In the original suite, each of the five dances represented the spirit of a different time and place relative to the background of San Antonio. “Fiesta” is an evocation of the excitement and color of the city’s numerous Mexican celebrations, Campo explained. The modal characteristics, rhythms and finely woven melodies depict what Williams called “the pageantry of Latin-American celebration – street bands, bull fights, bright costumes, the colorful legacy of a proud people.”

Prior to the SFA concert, the Wind Ensemble will tour schools in the Dallas area and perform a free public concert at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 4, in the McKinney ISD Performing Arts Center.

The SFA concert is a joint 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 SFA Alumni Invitational Showcase runs from Jan. 30 through May 3 in Griffith Fine Art Gallery on the campus of Stephen F. Austin State University.

The exhibition features works by former SFA art students and includes paintings, drawings, sculpture, metal work, ceramics and mixed media.

SFA art alumni whose works are featured include Texas artists Daniel Baugh, Santiago Escobedo and Dan Grissom, all of Austin; Michael Blome and Holly Haynes of Houston; Kyley Cantwell of Florence; Valerie Hanks of Huntsville; Kyle Rogers of Spring; and John Storm of Waco. Other artists include Bill Brunken of Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania; Tanna Burchinal of Wichita, Kansas; Kira Enriquez of Terre Haute, Indiana; Corey Lamb of Evansville, Indiana; Isaac Powell of Richmond, Kentucky; and Kylie Price of Cullowhee, North Carolina.

The artists have been invited to discuss their work. An artists’ talk and reception is planned for 5:30 to 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 8, in Griffith Gallery, located in the Griffith Fine Arts Building, 2222 Alumni Drive. Admission is free.

Hours for Griffith Gallery are 12:30 to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday during fall and spring semesters and 6 to 7:30 p.m. before most performances in W.M. Turner Auditorium, which is directly across the hall from the gallery. The gallery can also be opened for groups by appointment by calling (936) 468-1131 or (936) 468-6557.

For information about other art exhibitions, call (936) 468-1131.

Stephen F. Austin State University’s SFA Gardens will host the monthly Theresa and Les Reeves Lecture Series at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 14 in the Brundrett Conservation Education Building at the Pineywoods Native Plant Center, located at 2900 Raguet St.

Linda Gay of Arbor Gate Nursery in Tomball will present “Climbers, Twisters and Viners: Using Vertical Space.”

Gay describes herself as a horticulturist and gardener by trade as well as a “student of the unknown.” She has been learning and gardening in Houston since 1979 and, after working 26 years at Mercer Arboretum and Botanic Gardens, feels inspired to keep growing, tend her garden and share her knowledge with like-minded individuals.

Gay has an associate degree in horticultural technology from Trident Technical College in Charleston, South Carolina. She is an instructor of Texas Master Gardener classes in several Texas counties and was director at Mercer the last 11 of her 26 years there before her current position in sales and consulting at Arbor Gate Nursery.

In her spare time, Gay creates YouTube videos with Beverly Welch, the owner of Arbor Gate, and has a horticulture blog on topics such as how to plant a tree, how to prune a tree, mounting a Staghorn fern, and fall pruning of perennial plants for extended bloom. She is a writer and photographer for House & Home magazine and has been a horticulturist and teacher at McGovern Centennial Gardens at Hermann Park in Houston, among other ventures.

The Theresa and Les Reeves Lecture Series is held the second Thursday of each month and includes a rare-plant raffle after the program. The lecture is free and open to the public, but donations to the Theresa and Les Reeves Lecture Series fund are always appreciated.

Parking is available at the PNPC and Raguet Elementary School, located at 2428 Raguet St.

For more information, call (936) 468-4129, or email sfagardens@sfasu.edu.

The Office of Multicultural Affairs at Stephen F. Austin State University will host its first Brave Space Series of the spring semester at 4 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 12, in the Baker Pattillo Student Center’s Multimedia Room. The discussion will focus on the importance of self-love and how different cultures see it.

“I believe it is important for students to practice self-love because students often are struggling with their mental health,” Kristine Cross, OMA student ambassador, said. “Practicing self-love gives individuals time to reflect on and take care of themselves in all aspects of life.”

Each series has a specific area of focus. The Brave Space Series provides a forum for open and honest discussion concerning difficult topics. This meeting emphasizes individuals can love and cherish their uniqueness while appreciating their culture.

The discussion is free and open to the SFA and Nacogdoches communities. For more information, visit www.sfasu.edu/multicultural/480.asp.

By Emily Brown, marketing communications specialist for Stephen F. Austin State University.