Everything Nac

The Children’s Performing Arts Series at Stephen F. Austin State University will present two performances of Virginia Repertory Theatre’s “A Christmas Carol” on Friday, Dec. 1, in W.M. Turner Auditorium on the SFA campus.

Perhaps the best loved holiday story of all time, Virginia Repertory’s adaptation of Charles Dickens’ classic “A Christmas Carol” is particularly suited to children, according to Diane Peterson, SFA Fine Arts Box Office manager and director of the children’s series.

“Watch Mr. Scrooge have a change of heart from stone to gold as he is visited by the ghosts of Christmas, transforming him into a kinder, gentler man,” Peterson said. “All the joy, sentiment and meaning are here, without being too scary for young audiences.”

“A Christmas Carol” is the heartwarming story of the transformation of Ebenezer Scrooge from a greedy, heartless miser to a generous, loving man. Three ghostly visits – from the ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future – leave an indelible impression on Ebenezer. Filled with love and the true spirit of the Christmas season, he begins to change his selfish ways and open his heart to those around him.

The musical targets children in kindergarten through fifth grade. A study guide can be accessed at http://va-rep.org/tour/guides/carol.pdf.

Performances are at 9:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. on show dates in W.M. Turner Auditorium on the SFA campus. Tickets are $7.50 for individuals and $6 per person for groups of 20 or more.

Other upcoming children’s shows presented by the SFA College of Fine Arts include “Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad” on Thursday, Feb. 1; Super Scientific Circus on Wednesday, March 7; and “The Ugly Duckling” on Friday, April 27.

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

The Swingin’ Axes and Swingin’ Aces at Stephen F. Austin State University will present the program “A Jazzy Christmas” that will feature a mixture of holiday songs and jazz favorites at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 1, in Cole Concert Hall on the SFA campus.

The Swingin’ Axes, directed by Dr. Deb Scott, will perform arrangements from two major jazz Christmas albums. Stan Kenton released his landmark album, “Kenton’s Christmas,” in 1970. “We Three Kings,” “Adeste Fideles (O, Come All Ye Faithful)” and “The Twelve Days of Christmas” are all popular arrangements by Kenton and Ralph Carmichael, according to Scott.

These famous recordings originally included adding four mellophone players to the traditional jazz ensemble. These parts will be performed by horn majors from the SFA School of Music, including Corrie Bird of Mineral Wells, Abbigail Ramsey of McKinney, Taylor Young of Hallsville and Cody Wyatt of Pearland.

Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat Band released a Christmas album in 2006 called “Bah Humduck!, A Looney Tunes Christmas.” The Axes will perform several “wildly untraditional” Christmas arrangements from this album, Scott said. Those include “Yo Tannenbaum!,” “God Rest Ye Mary, Gentlemen” and “The Little Drummer Boy.”

The concert will also feature Barry Martin, senior percussion major, singing “The Christmas Song” by Mel Tormé and Robert Wells, arranged by Jerry Nowak.

The Swingin’ Aces, directed by Dr. J.D. Salas, will perform two pieces by East Texas arranger and composer Mike McGowan, who instructs music theory at Panola College in Carthage and performs saxophone and keyboard in several East Texas jazz groups. Those works include “My Shining Hour” by Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer, arranged by McGowan, and the world premiere of McGowan’s “Mrs. Luckey’s Blue Plate Special.”

The Aces will also perform “In A Mellow Tone” by Duke Ellington, arranged by Dave Wolpe; “But Beautiful” by Johnny Burke and Jimmy Van Heusen, arranged by Lennie Niehaus; “A Charlie Brown Christmas” by Vince Guaraldi, arranged by Paul Murtha; and

“Take the ‘A’ Train” by Billy Strayhorn, arranged by Gordon Goodwin.

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. Cole Concert Hall is located in the Tom and Peggy Wright Music Building.

The Stephen F. Austin State University School of Art and the Friends of the Visual Arts will present a free, one-night screening of “Who the #$%& is Jackson Pollock?” at 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 1, in The Cole Art Center @ The Old Opera House in downtown Nacogdoches.

Directed by veteran filmmaker Harry Morgan Moses, the documentary exposes the controversy in the world of high-priced artwork. Moses paints a vivid picture of how art is bought and sold in America in this film about a long-haul truck driver who buys a painting from a thrift shop for $5 and later finds out that Pollock may have painted it.

The film runs 74 minutes and is rated PG-13 for certain language.

This screening is part of the School of Art’s monthly Friday Film Series and is sponsored in part by William Arscott, Nacogdoches Film Festival, Karon Gillespie, Mike Mollot, David Kulhavy, Brad Maule, John and Kristen Heath, Galleria Z, Jill Carrington, Jean Stephens, Jim and Mary Neal, Richard Orton, Nacogdoches Junior Forum and Main Street Nacogdoches.

The Cole Art Center is located at 329 E. Main St. For more information, call (936) 468-1131.

The Cole Art Center @ The Old Opera House will host a holiday exhibition that provides a glimpse into the celebrations of Christmas past from a child’s point of view.

“I’ll Be Home for Christmas,” featuring charming items from a bygone era, is from a local private collection. The exhibition will be displayed in small vignettes placed around the gallery on both floors. The show will be exhibited Dec. 1 through 31.

“These vignettes will explore the wonder and delight of Christmas celebrations and demonstrate how delightful such things were to children 100-plus years ago,” said John Handley, director of art galleries for Stephen F. Austin State University.

The Cole Art Center hosted a similar holiday exhibition last year for the first time.

“It proved to be very popular,” Handley said. “We had visitors from as far away as Tyler come to see the exhibit. Several museums around the country set up similar displays to attract families to the museums. One notable example is the Taft Museum in Ohio, which features a charming exhibit each holiday season.”

Handley will discuss a unique aspect of antique ornaments in a presentation at 3 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 2, which is the same day as the Christmas festival in downtown Nacogdoches, followed by the annual lighted Christmas parade and fireworks display that evening.

Sponsors for the presentation are The Flower Shop, SFA Friends of the Visual Arts and Nacogdoches Junior Forum.

SFA School of Art’s downtown gallery, The Cole Art Center is located at 329 E. Main St. For more information, call (936) 468-1131.