Everything Nac

The Music Preparatory Division of the Stephen F. Austin State University School of Music will host an open house from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 19, at the Music Prep House at 3028 Raguet St.

Music Prep offers private music lessons in piano, harp, violin, Suzuki violin, flute, cello, trumpet, trombone, voice, percussion and more.

The program also offers the Piney Woods Youth Orchestra, an Adult Piano Class, Music Theory Adventures for beginning and intermediate students and the Raguet Strings adult ensemble. Harp ensemble classes are offered for students in third through sixth grades, middle and high school ages and adults.

Upper-level musicians as well as SFA faculty and students teach classes.

Auditions for the youth orchestra will be held during the open house.

The Music Prep office is open from 1 to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. For additional information, contact Barnett at (936) 468-1291 or at musicprep@sfasu.edu. Visit www.music.sfasu.edu/prep or the Facebook site at SFA Music Prep.

Fourteen students from the Stephen F. Austin State University School of Art traveled to Italy earlier this summer to study European art first hand and further develop the School of Art’s ongoing exchange program with the art school in Florence, Libera Accademia di Belle Arti (LABA).

Led by Christopher Talbot, director of the School of Art, and Dr. David Lewis, professor of art, students visited Florence, Siena, Arezzo and Rome, Italy, where they toured numerous museums, churches and monuments, including the Uffizi Gallery and the Cathedral and Baptistery of Florence and the Roman Forum and Colosseum, Vatican Museums and St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. During their travels, the students completed the course, “Italian Renaissance Art – Then and Now,” taught by Lewis.

Since 2015, LABA has hosted two SFA students for two weeks in May, and the SFA School of Art has hosted two LABA students for two weeks in September. This trip expanded SFA’s exchange with LABA. Students toured LABA facilities, attended the fashion show of designs made by LABA students and got acquainted with the four LABA students who will visit SFA this coming September. Talbot and several students presented a program about SFA and the School of Art for LABA students, and Talbot and Lewis also critiqued the work of photography students.

With iPads raised to the sky, dozens of Lil’ STEM Jacks and their family members map the constellations using the Skyview app as night falls over the Stephen F. Austin State University Observatory.

As lines connect stars into shapes, animals, gods and goddesses on the iPad, viewers have a clearer picture of constellations millions of miles away. Suddenly, what looks like a shooting star whizzes by, and the crowd buzzes with excitement.

“It’s the International Space Station,” many shout as they lift their iPads to the stars to confirm.

Recently, participants in SFA’s Lil’ STEM Jacks, a two-day outreach program offered within the College of Sciences and Mathematics’ STEM Research and Learning Center, had an out-of-this-world experience as they traveled to the SFA Observatory for a constellation party.

“We were so excited to have our Lil’ STEM Jacks at the observatory. The students were able to see so much more by using technology. The iPads gave them the ability to explore and see what they wanted to see,” said Julie Sandifer, kindergarten through 12th grade outreach coordinator for SFA’s STEM Research and Learning Center.

Utilizing high-powered telescopes, attendees were able to view craters on the moon, see the patterns on Jupiter’s surface and its four moons, and clearly see Saturn and its rings.

“It’s easy to talk about the planets and show students photographs, but to actually have them see Saturn, Jupiter and the moon up close through a telescope is a whole new, amazing experience,” Sandifer said.

The constellation party was one of many events the Lil’ STEM Jacks enjoyed. During the two-day program, participants investigated the biology of plants and made take-home planters, learned about the planets, played planet bingo, explored the nursing and the medical professions, took part in demonstrations using medical mannequins, and participated in a wildlife show. Another highlight was the EV3 Lego Mindstorms, where students programmed robots to move, make sounds and complete tasks.

“Our goal with the Lil’ STEM Jacks program is to encourage children to get excited about science, math, engineering and technology,” Sandifer said. “This year’s program exceeded our expectations. Not only did the kids enjoy the activities, but many family members had fun, especially at the constellation party.”

Last year, SFA created the Lil’ STEM Jacks program to provide opportunities for children ages 6 through 10 to learn and play using science, technology, engineering and mathematics. More than 30 children participated this year.

The Music Preparatory Division of the Stephen F. Austin State University School of Music will offer harp lessons for the upcoming fall semester.

Award-winning harpist Emily Mitchell, artist in residence in the SFA School of Music, will teach the lessons for ages 8 through adult.

“When I perform, audience members will often say to me afterwards, ‘Oh, I always wanted to learn to play the harp!’ Well, here’s your chance,” Mitchell said. “It’s going to be fun, low pressure, with lots of camaraderie.”

Lyon-Healy Troubadour lever harps will be provided. No prior musical training is necessary. Classes will be organized according to age and musical proficiency.

“You can make a beautiful sound on the harp from the very beginning – no squeaks or squawks,” Mitchell said. “It’s very gratifying to learn to play the harp, because even the simplest of songs can be made to sound beautiful, and you don’t need accompaniment. The harp is similar to the piano in that respect.”

Students who excel during the three-times-a-week sessions will have the option of continuing with private lessons, Mitchell explained.

“The SFA Music Preparatory Division is very fortunate to have Emily Mitchell teaching harp,” said Pat Barnett, Music Prep director. “Mr. Ed Cole and wife, Gwen, purchased the harps to add to the preparatory divisions’ music offerings. We are forever grateful to the Coles for their generosity and for bringing the harp to us and the SFA School of Music.”

First-time registrants will receive a $30 scholarship off the $90 tuition for the class.

Emily Mitchell enjoyed a 30-year career in New York City where she was principal harpist for the incomparable Eos Orchestra. She was an established name in the television, motion picture and recording studios of New York and taught on the faculties of New York University and Purchase College. Mitchell toured the United States as a soloist and chamber musician for Columbia Artists’ Community Concerts for many years. She relocated to Texas in 2008 and was appointed to the music faculties of SFA and Sam Houston State University. Mitchell performs with Saint Cecilia Chamber Music Society in Houston, Better Than One harp duo with Jaymee Haefner, and is director of The New Houston Harp Ensemble. Mitchell has championed the works of flutist and composer Gary Schocker on four CDs for Albany Records recorded from 2011 to 2016.

Music Prep offers private music lessons in piano, harp, violin, Suzuki violin, flute, cello, trumpet, trombone, voice, percussion and more. Private lessons begin the week of Aug. 21 for 16-week upper level faculty instruction and the week of Sept. 11 for 12-week SFA music major instruction.

The Music Prep office is open from 1 to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. For additional information, contact Barnett at (936) 468-1291 or at musicprep@sfasu.edu. Application forms and information about the various programs offered are available on the Music Prep website at www.music.sfasu.edu/prep. Visit the Facebook site at SFA Music Prep.

Heather Samuelson and Haley Jameson, co-coordinators of Stephen F. Austin State University’s dance program, presented research at the Twelfth International Conference on the Arts in Society in Paris, France.

Samuelson’s poster presentation, “Expression of the Forbidden: Creating dance that explores eating disorders and self-mutilation,” is based on a dance she choreographed titled “M.E.,” which depicts eating disorders and self-mutilation.

The poster touched on various conference themes, including social, political and community agendas in the arts, gestures that matter, arts as activism, arts and disabilities, and arts, well-being and healing.

“The poster presentation brought to light several societal issues such as eating disorders, cutting and mental instability that affect many people,” Samuelson said. “By incorporating shared gestures with the issues presented, ‘M.E.’ promotes healing and awareness and opens the lines of expression and communication.”

Jameson’s poster, “Teaching Social Responsibility Through Dance Appreciation,” focused on her teaching practice in dance appreciation classes at SFA. Jameson uses social responsibility as the framework to look at dance through the lens of a non-discrimination statement in her dance appreciation courses.

“We look at dance and religion, politics, gender, race, nationality, ethnicity and ability,” Jameson said. “Through these lenses, we study how dance is used as an expression of these areas and how dance can be used to influence or effect social change.”

This conference was Samuelson’s first international presentation, which she describes as humbling and a great opportunity to connect with artists from around the world.

“We had the support of the university, as well as friends and family,” Samuelson said. “Having them back us, encourage our research, and know that we would well-represent SFA and the dance program made us feel proud to be Lumberjacks.”

Jameson agreed the conference was a tremendous opportunity.

“We were honored to represent SFA and the U.S. at this diverse conference for all the arts,” Jameson said. “I enjoyed participating in workshops and listening to presentations that enriched me as a professional in my field and also as a professor.”

During the conference, Samuelson and Jameson toured the Palace of Versailles and Palais Garnier, which is regarded as the birthplace of ballet.

“I can’t explain the feeling I experienced standing in the most historic building directly related to my profession,” Samuelson said. “Even now when I think about it, that feeling comes back. I can officially say, ‘I was there, and I danced … down a corridor!’”