Everything Nac

After a few run-throughs on the 150-foot runway, Stephen F. Austin State University junior Meagan McNabb’s nerves settled. Backstage was mayhem as designers, college students and make-up artists prepared to showcase their creations in front of hundreds of people. In a few moments, McNabb would walk down the runway and proudly display her team’s Renaissance-inspired dress.

“I was a little nervous at first, but we were able to go through practice runs a few times, and I became more confident,” McNabb said. “I think it went well and wearing the dress was really cool.”

For eight years, the International Interior Design Association Houston City Center has sponsored Product Runway, an avant-garde couture fashion design competition influenced by the reality TV show, Project Runway.

SFA students Jennifer Gregory, Laura Aguilar, Brittany Rathbun, Pamela Garcia and McNabb competed in this spring’s challenge, which doubles as a learning experience and charity event. Proceeds from the event benefit the Houston Furniture Bank, a non-profit organization that provides a more comfortable and livable environment to families in need. This was the third year SFA participated.

“This was my first time participating in the event, and I really enjoyed it,” Gregory said. “Being able to implement teamwork with my friends while representing SFA and helping raise money for those in need of furniture in the Houston area was an amazing experience, and I cannot wait for next year.”

Gregory added working backstage and seeing the behind-the-scenes action was an eye-opening experience.

Product Runway puts teams of interior design and architecture professionals and interior design students in a fashion design competition where competitors are tasked with creating handmade garments out of standard architectural finish materials, such as glass, tile, carpet and wood. This year’s theme was Avant Art, and teams had to create looks inspired by a specific art style, such as Renaissance, baroque, neoclassical and impressionism.

SFA team members created a Renaissance-inspired outfit with materials from Global Furniture Group and Formica. Per the competition’s rules, 80 percent of the garment’s design had to include one soft and one hard material.

SFA’s team design was inspired by the Renaissance time period and the groundbreaking boldness of “Birth of Venus” by Sandro Botticelli, according to the team’s concept statement. The look’s concept was developed to depict the rebirth of an old Renaissance style to create a modern, edgy transitional dress using structured laminate by Formica while creating movement using a variety of fabrics, including Global’s Imprint, Replay and Softhide. The design features confident reds, which show the empowerment Venus portrayed, and softer creams, which represent awareness of the natural world, to create a seamless transition into modern times, as explained in the concept statement.

Three alumni of the Stephen F. Austin State University School of Music will return to their alma mater to perform in the annual choral masterworks series concert at 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 6, in W.M. Turner Auditorium on the SFA campus.

Under the direction of Dr. Tim King, director of choral studies at SFA, the A Cappella Choir, Choral Union, Women’s Chorus and the Orchestra of the Pines will perform “An American Requiem” by Richard Danielpour. Guest soloists will be SFA alumni Erin Roth, mezzo-soprano; Dr. Richard Novak, tenor; and Casey Jones Parrish, baritone.

Roth’s career as a lyric mezzo-soprano has advanced with performances at Opéra Louisiane, Des Moines Metro Opera and the Texarkana Symphony Orchestra, singing roles that include Pitti-Sing in W.S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan’s “The Mikado,” Meg Page in Giuseppe Verdi’s “Falstaff,” Siébel in Charles Gounod’s “Faust,” and Prince Orlofsky in Johann Strauss’ “Die Fledermaus.” She has performed as a featured soloist in many works, including George Frideric Handel’s “Messiah,” Verdi’s Requiem, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Requiem, Felix Mendelssohn’s “Elijah” and, most recently, Vivaldi’s “Gloria.” She was a grant recipient in the Fielder Grant competition and a national finalist in the American Prize competition, as well as the Shreveport Opera Singer of the Year, where she received the Audience Choice Award. Roth recently performed in the inaugural season of the Dallas Choral Festival, singing Ludwig van Beethoven’s “Missa Solemnis” with a professional chorus of 100 singers from across the nation. She now lives in Plano with her husband, Chad, and currently serves as the alto section leader and soloist-in-residence with the Sanctuary Choir at Lovers Lane United Methodist Church in Dallas. She regularly performs as a soloist and chorister with the Highland Park Chorale, a professional choral group. She most recently joined the Orpheus Chamber Singers, Dallas-Fort Worth’s premier chamber ensemble, where she was a soloist in Maurice Duruflé’s Requiem. She earned a master’s degree in vocal performance at SFA in 2007 and was a student of Nita Hudson.

Novak has established a national reputation as a professional tenor and voice teacher. He has performed with Washington Concert Opera, Opera Carolina, San Antonio Opera, Opera Piccola, Annapolis Opera, Chautauqua Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera, Wichita Grand Opera, The Living Opera, Wagner Society of Washington, San Antonio Symphony, San Antonio Chamber Choir, San Antonio Choral Society, Chautauqua Symphony, Prince William Symphony, the Monroe Symphony, the Conservatorio di Musica Agostino Steffani in Castelfranco Veneto, Italy, and the Institute of Culture in Culiacán and Mazatlán, Mexico. Among Novak’s operatic credits are Rodolfo, Pinkerton, Alfredo, Don José, Nemorino, Ernesto, Werther, Eisenstein, Tamino, Lippo, Roméo, and Tybalt. In 2005 and 2006, Novak won the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, Tulsa District. He is also a former winner of the Texoma NATS Singer of the Year award. He holds a Bachelor of Music and Master of Music in vocal performance from SFA, and a doctoral degree in vocal performance from the University of North Texas. He is the music director at Saints Peter & Paul Catholic Church in New Braunfels where he is also choir director and music teacher. He is an adjunct voice instructor at the University of the Incarnate Word and is founder/artistic director of the Saints Peter & Paul Young Artist Recital Series, which presents young artists with performance opportunities and financial support for furthering musical pursuits. He resides in New Braunfels with his wife, Laura, and three children.

Parrish is a native of Livingston and has lived in Houston since July of 2015. After graduating from SFA in 2014, he served as assistant choir director under the leadership of Dr. Tod Fish at Coronado High School in Lubbock. Later, Parrish moved to Houston with his fiancé where he now serves as assistant choir director at Cook Middle School in Cy-Fair ISD. He is a member of the Houston Men’s Choir along with other SFA alumni Jake Taylor, Clint Jordan and Brian Miller. Parrish is a staff singer at the United Methodist Church-Downtown Houston under the direction of SFA alumnus Dr. Terry Morris. During his years at SFA, Parrish had the opportunity to perform a variety of opera roles, including Olin Blitch from Carlisle Floyd’s “Susannah,” Marco from Bedřich Smetana’s “The Bartered Bride,” and Germont from Verdi’s “La Traviata.” He has traveled to several European countries performing a wide variety of choral works with King and the SFA A Cappella Choir. In 2011, he had the opportunity to perform the baritone solo from Velio Tormis’ “Raua Needmine” at the TMEA convention in San Antonio with the A Cappella Choir. Parrish earned both a bachelor’s degree in vocal performance in 2012 and master’s degree in choral conducting in 2014 at SFA under the mentorship of King and Hudson.

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 Audio Engineering Society at Stephen F. Austin State University will present a free screening of “Thunder Soul,” a documentary about bandleader Conrad “Prof” Johnson and the Kashmere High School Stage Band, at 2 p.m. Friday, May 6, in Cole Concert Hall on the SFA campus.

Produced by Jamie Foxx and directed by Mark Landsman, the film tells the story of alumni from Houston’s storied Kashmere High School Stage Band who return home after 35 years to play a tribute concert for their beloved bandleader who turned the struggling jazz band into a world-class funk powerhouse in the early 1970s, according to the IMDb description.

Now, years later, Johnson’s students prepare to pay tribute to the man – age 92 at the time the film was made – who changed their lives. Some haven’t played their horns in decades, yet they dust off their instruments, determined to retake the stage to show Prof and the world that they’ve still got it with the making of a CD release, “528-0728.”

The film is one hour, 23 minutes and is rated PG for language and momentary smoking. A question-answer session will follow.