Everything Nac

Concert pianist Kevin Ayesh will perform at Stephen F. Austin State University at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 13, in Cole Concert Hall as part of the SFA Friends of Music Concert Series.

Ayesh, who has presented concerts and master classes throughout the United States as well as in Canada, Belgium, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland and Hong Kong, will present a varied program featuring the music of Ludwig van Beethoven, Johannes Brahms, Gabriel Fauré and Frédéric Chopin.

Among the works on the program are Beethoven’s popular Sonata in C Minor, Op. 13 (the “Pathetique”), Chopin’s majestic late Sonata in B Minor, Op. 58, and some lesser known “caprices” by Viennese-born American composer Robert Starer, who was a faculty member at the Juilliard School from 1949-1974.

Ayesh has taught music at Blue Ridge Community College in Flat Rock, North Carolina, since 1992. As a North Carolina visiting artist for four years, he appeared before thousands across that state, performing as many as 50 recitals in a season.

He is a recipient of the Naftzger Piano Award and Baltimore Music Club Award and winner of both the JCC Baltimore Piano Competition and the Maryland State Music Teachers’ Elizabeth R. Davis Memorial Piano Competition. Ayesh was awarded second prize at the Wideman International Piano Competition and won both third prize and composer’s prize at the New Orleans International Piano Competition.

This past summer, Ayesh was a guest artist at the Lindlar International Piano Festival in Germany, and he has recently served as a recitalist and clinician for the Gene Marcus Piano Festival at Purdue University-Fort Wayne in Indiana, the Star Valley Junior Music Festival in Wyoming, and the USA Piano Camp at the University of South Alabama.

According to Dr. Andrew Parr, professor of piano at SFA, Ayesh will present a master class for SFA student pianists in Cole Concert Hall at 10:30 a.m. the same day as the concert. The class is open to the public and free of charge.

Cole Concert Hall is located in the Tom and Peggy Wright Music Building, 2210 Alumni Drive.

Concert 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.

Join Stephen F. Austin State University’s SFA Gardens for a free outdoor family day featuring archery, the Survival Supermarket and guided plant identification hikes led by students from the National Association of Interpretation, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 13, at the Pineywoods Native Plant Center, located at 2900 Raguet St.

Children are encouraged to learn introductory archery skills from a team of trained SFA student instructors. Other activities include a shopping trip through the Survival Supermarket to learn about the traditional uses of the cattail plant, introduction to orienteering and compass skills, creating plaster casts of animal tracks, hiking with NAI students on plant identification walks, and more.

“Cattail is one of the most versatile plants when it comes to survival scenarios. It can be used for food, fuel and pillows,” said Jocelyn Moore, assistant education coordinator at SFA Gardens. “We are excited to invite participants to explore this plant and others as they browse through the Survival Supermarket.”

The event is held in conjunction with the Nacogdoches Public Library’s Big Read of 2018, where more than 40 events are held throughout Nacogdoches that explore the theme “Survival Is Insufficient,” which is discussed in the book “Station Eleven” by Emily St. John Mandel. According to librarian Crystal Hicks, the Big Read aims to “broaden our understanding of our world, our communities and ourselves through the joy of sharing a good book.”

Event parking will be at the PNPC and Raguet Elementary. For more information, call (936) 468-1863 or email moorejv@sfasu.edu.

The Stephen F. Austin State University School of Theatre will present the student-directed play “Trifles” at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 12, and at 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 13, in the Downstage Theatre on the SFA campus.

Macy Rhodes, a senior theatre major from Center Point, directs the one-act play written by Susan Glaspell. It explores the psychological differences between men and women, their social roles, isolation and perceived justice.

A murder occurs in a rural farmhouse in early 20th century America, and a group of people arrive at the farmhouse to investigate, Rhodes explains. While the men search the crime scene for evidence, the women begin to uncover the events that led up to the murder.

“What ensues is a struggle between morality and legality and masculinity and femininity,” she said.

The cast includes Leander senior Josh Warren as George Henderson; Nacogdoches freshman Jason Couch as Lewis Hale; Mont Belvieu junior Ty Carter as Henry Peters; Waxahachie freshman Emmeline Sullivan as Mrs. Peters; and Red Oak junior Beau McAfee as Mrs. Hale.

Stage manager for “Triffles” is Splendora senior Karagan Haber. Student production assistants are San Antonio sophomore Hannah Pittman and North Richland senior Cortney Francisco.

Rhodes is the president of the student organization Speak Up Devised Theatre. She previously directed “Perfect” by Mary Gallagher and “The American Workplace” by SFA playwright Mickey May.

“Trifles” is recommended for mature audiences. Faculty production advisor is Dr. Inga Meier.

Tickets are $4. For tickets or more information, call the SFA Fine Arts Box Office at (936) 468-6407 or visit theatre.sfasu.edu. The Downstage Theatre is located in the Griffith Fine Arts Building, 2222 Alumni Drive.

The Swingin’ Axes and Swingin’ Aces at Stephen F. Austin State University have “Something For Everyone” in store when the jazz bands perform at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 12, in W.M. Turner Auditorium on the SFA campus.

In the bands’ first concert of the fall semester, Axes Director Dr. Deb Scott and Aces Director Dr. J.D. Salas have planned a varied program that ranges from traditional swing to Latin tunes to old jazz standards and guarantees the concert theme: “Something For Everyone.”

The Swingin’ Axes will perform “Corner Pocket” by Freddie Green. “This is a traditional swing chart made famous by the Count Basie Big Band in 1955 and then recorded again by Harry James in 1976,” Scott said.

The Axes will also perform “Machito” by Pete Rugolo, which was recorded on Stan Kenton’s album “Cuban Fire” in 1947 and honored an influential musician from Cuba, Machito, who performed with the Kenton band, Scott explained.

Also on the Axes’ program are several Gordon Goodwin selections, including “Backrow Politics” featuring the trumpet section, “Horn of Puente” and “The Check’s in the Mail,” along with “Show Up” by Michael Davis and Cole Davis, a modern funk tune recorded recently by the Hip-Bone Big Band.

“Special guest joining us to play on the two Latin tunes is Paco Morales, our own SFA piano tuner,” Scott said.

A number of old favorites are on the Aces’ part of the program, including Sammy Nestico’s arrangement of “Satin Doll” by Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn; “Love for Sale” by Cole Porter; “There Is No Greater Love” by Isham Jones and Marty Stymes; and a great arrangement of “Softly, As In Morning Sunrise” arranged by Dave Rivello.

Concert 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 Cole Art Center @ The Old Opera House will partner with the Nacogdoches Public Library and its NEA Big Read Nacogdoches project to present a screening of a new William Shakespeare film adaptation by Casey Wilder Mott.

A free, one-night screening of Mott’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” is at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 12, at Cole Art Center. This production is a fresh and stylish reinvention that takes an entirely different approach to one of Shakespeare’s most beloved creations.The story takes place in present-day Hollywood – a place where “glamorous stars, commanding moguls, starving artists and vaulting pretenders all vie to get ahead,” according to the film synopsis at edu.passionriver.com. “Hollywood is sometimes called ‘The Dream Factory,’ and like the world of Shakespeare’s ‘Dream,’ it’s a place where fantasy and reality collide.

“In the tradition of Baz Luhrmann’s rapturous re-imagining of ‘Romeo + Juliet,’ this modern vision breathes new life into a classic tale,” the synopsis continues. “Combined with a cast of established and emerging stars, as well as a pulsing original soundtrack, the film will appeal to ardent fans of the Bard as well as audiences discovering Shakespeare for the first time.”

The NEA Big Read is an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest. This program seeks to broaden understanding of the world and its communities, and of oneself, through the joy of sharing a good book.

This screening of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” is just one of many events the Nacogdoches Public Library has planned during October as part of the Big Read initiative.

“I want to thank Cole Art Center for being involved with our city-wide program this year,” said Crystal Hicks, assistant director of the library. “We’re so glad to have such a wonderfully engaged and supportive community.”

There will be time for discussion of the film and the NEA Big Read novel, “Station Eleven,” following the film.

The Cole Art Center is Stephen F. Austin State University’s historic downtown art gallery, located at 329 E. Main St. For more information, 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. Oct. 11 in the Brundrett Conservation Education Building at the Pineywoods Native Plant Center, located at 2900 Raguet St.

SFA horticulture alumnus Dr. Andrew King will present, “You Can Take the Boy out of East Texas, but You Can’t Take the Azaleas Out of His Garden: Growing Ornamentals in a Challenging Environment.”

King was raised in Tenaha, Texas, on a small retail nursery that was founded in 1915 by his great-grandfather. Through four generations, the nursery has remained in the King family. His father, mother and grandmother all instilled in him a love of horticulture. When it was time to further his education at the university level, it was an easy decision. King received a bachelor’s degree in agriculture with an emphasis in horticulture from Stephen F. Austin State University in 2004, and his master’s and doctoral degrees from Texas A&M University in 2010 and 2015, respectively.

He has served as a lecturer in the Department of Horticultural Sciences at TAMU since January 2016, teaching many of the plant production courses, including nursery management and production, and plant propagation, as well as some introductory courses, such as garden science. Recently, he has introduced a class titled “Wild Edible, Cultivated and Poisonous Herbs” that focuses on the medicinal, poisonous and culinary aspects of plants that people often overlook. His research interests include plant propagation, trialing plant materials and nursery crop improvement.

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.