Everything Nac

Dr. Larry O’Neal, associate professor of management, marketing and international business at Stephen F. Austin State University, critiques freshman management major Dar Sin’s résumé during the Nelson Rusche College of Business’ mock career fair.

Members of the Student Advisory Council, a student ambassador group, organized the mock career fair to help SFA students prepare for the actual career and internship expo, which will be held from 1-4 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 23, in the Baker Pattillo Student Center Grand Ballroom. Several consultation booths were available giving students opportunities to have their résumés reviewed in one-on-one sessions with faculty members, discuss appropriate professional dress and practice their 30-second elevator pitches.

Two Stephen F. Austin State University graduates will have their works showcased at the fifth annual Nacogdoches Film Festival, a celebration of the art and entertainment of film in all its forms.

Tickets are now on sale for the festival, which is scheduled for Thursday through Saturday, Feb. 25 through 27, in downtown Nacogdoches, on the SFA campus and other venues in town.

This year’s event includes a star-studded lineup of featured guests, including New York Times best-selling author and the brains behind the hit TV series, “True Blood,” Charlaine Harris.

Festival events also include project viewings and a short film competition, various panels including Q-and-A sessions with featured guests, a “Best True Blood Costume” contest and more, according to information at nacogdochesfilmfestival.org.

Brandon Polanco and Derek Wayne Johnson, both graduates of SFA, are among the filmmakers whose works will be shown. Polanco’s short film projects “Alchemy,” “Vicky & Jonny” and “Writer’s Block” will be shown beginning at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 25, in Cole Art Center @ The Old Opera House, located at 329 E. Main St. A question-and-answer session with Polanco will follow at 8 p.m.

A Brooklyn-based filmmaker from Austin, Polanco earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in theatre at SFA in 2009. He was among the Rose Bruford Exchange students in the School of Theatre, and while on the exchange he also studied at RESAD (Spain’s Royal Dramatic Academy) in Madrid. His short film “Writer’s Block” starring Bryan Cranston of AMC’s “Breaking Bad” fame won widespread acclaim in 2013-14 and was shown at the 2014 Nacogdoches Film Festival. Polanco’s film “Vicky & Jonny” was accepted last year into the world-renowned Cannes International Film Festival as part of the Short Film Corner. Polanco is co-owner of the production company 3 of A Kind Productions.

Johnson’s documentary about the Oscar-winning director of “Rocky” (1976) and “The Karate Kid” (1984) entitled “John G. Avildsen: King of the Underdogs” (2016) will show from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 27, in the Baker Pattillo Student Center Theater on the SFA campus. It will be followed by a Q&A session with Johnson.

The documentary examines the life, career and films of the legendary director and features exclusive never-before-seen interviews with Sylvester Stallone, Ralph Macchio, Martin Scorsese, Burt Reynolds, Jerry Weintraub, Talia Shire and many more, according to the festival website.

Johnson is an award-winning film director/writer/producer and owner of AJ16 Entertainment, a production company specializing in feature films and documentaries. After film school at SFA, he got his start by acting in Hollywood films and TV as well as directing independent features in Texas and Louisiana, eventually making his way to California.

Among the festival panelists are Herbert Midgley, an instructor of music technology in the SFA School of Music who is also an active filmmaker. Midgley has worked as a director, unit production manager, assistant director, cameraman, editor, sound designer, sound mixer, boom, grip, production assistant, screenwriter and composer. He has worked on nine feature films, more than 30 short films, and has made many art films. In 2014, Midgley premiered his sci-fi feature film, “The Rise Of The Robots,” in film festivals across the United States.

A portion of the festival proceeds will fund filmmaking projects within the SFA School of Art.

For a full list of featured guests, event specifics and ticket information, visit nacogdochesfilmfestival.org.

The Piney Woods Camerata at Stephen F. Austin State University will present music from the Baroque Period when the ensemble performs at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 21, in Cole Concert Hall on the SFA campus.

The ensemble is comprised of SFA School of Music string faculty and students with Geneva Fung, staff accompanist, as harpsichordist. The program will feature the works of composers Antonio Vivaldi, George Frideric Handel and Frederick the Great.

Handel’s Concerto Grosso in C major HWV 318 is one of the best-known works on this program.

“Handel composed this piece as interlude music for one of his larger choral works called ‘Alexander’s Feast,'” said Dr. Jennifer Dalmas, associate professor of violin at SFA and founding member of the Camerata, “but it was immediately popular on its own as well.” Dalmas and her graduate student Leonard Chow will be featured in this work.

Two pieces by Vivaldi will be performed, including a concerto for two cellos that was originally composed for cello and bassoon.

“This concerto is unusual in its form, with surprising tempo and mood changes throughout each of the three movements,” Dalmas said. Music faculty member Evgeni Raychev and his graduate student Manab Naskar will perform the solos in this double concerto.

Frederick the Great was the ruler of Prussia from 1740 to 1786, and he was also a flutist and composer, writing four symphonies and more than 100 sonatas. The Camerata will perform his Symphony in A major.

The recital is a joint presentation of the SFA College of Fine Arts and School of Music and is a feature of the Cole Performing Arts Series.

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. This same program will be presented at Panola College in Carthage earlier that day.

The Bassoon Ensemble at Stephen F. Austin State University will present a concert at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 21, in Cole Concert Hall on the SFA campus.

The program will feature arrangements of classical, Latin, jazz and popular music, according to Staci Spring, bassoon and musicology instructor in the SFA School of Music.

Joining the ensemble will be guest bassoonist Dr. Jeff Womack, associate professor of music at Angelo State University. He will perform with the ensemble and also perform solos with piano and on contrabassoon. Keith Lloyd, SFA music faculty member, will accompany the ensemble on percussion, and graduate student Milton Fernandez will accompany Womack on piano.

The SFA Bassoon Ensemble will perform “March to the Scaffold” from Hector Berlioz’s famous “Symphonie Fantastique,” as well as popular tunes such as “House of the Rising Sun” and John Williams’ “Cantina” from the “Star Wars” soundtrack.

Womack will perform a solo feature with the ensemble entitled “Bassoon Rawk.”

“This entertaining piece is written for 10 bassoons, and gives the soloist a chance to explore the gospel/blues style,” Spring said.

Womack will also perform a transcription of Gioachino Rossini’s “Cavatina from La Gazza Ladra,” arranged for bassoon and piano by Frédéric Berr.

“This delightful piece perfectly suits the charming, lyrical and technical capabilities of the bassoon,” Spring said.

Spring established the SFA Bassoon Ensemble in 2013. The group consists of music majors and non-majors, as well as faculty members, and they have performed several concerts on and off campus. The group was recently selected to perform a music showcase concert at the 2016 Texas Music Educators Association Conference in San Antonio, and this concert at SFA will feature selections from their TMEA program.

“I am excited to see how the bassoon studio and the ensemble have grown over the past few years,” Spring said. “We started very small, and now the ensemble regularly includes eight to 10 players. With the addition of our guest and the percussion, the visual impact will be quite impressive. It will be a very entertaining performance!”

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.

Stephen Lias, professor of composition at Stephen F. Austin State University, will present “Encounters: Music Inspired by Our National Parks” at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 23, in Cole Concert Hall on the SFA campus.

The recital showcases the musical compositions of Lias and will be performed by guest artists Scott LaGraff, baritone; Gary Wurtz, trumpet; Christina Guenther, flute; Jennifer Keeney, flute; Carly Hood, saxophone; Deb Scott, trombone; and Ron Petti, piano.

The recital is presented as part of the centennial celebration in 2016 of the National Park Service.

“This year marks the 100th anniversary of the founding of the National Park Service,” Lias said. “As part of our national celebration, I recently released a CD of park-inspired chamber works titled ‘Encounters: Music Inspired by Our National Parks.’ Three of the pieces from that CD are included on this recital.”

“River Runner” was the first piece Lias composed about a national park. It recounts a paddle trip on the Rio Grande through Big Bend’s Santa Elena Canyon.

“Starting with the frenzy and excitement of setting out, it moves through the somber landscape and then concludes with the terror of ‘Rockslide Rapids,'” Lias said. “The audience can be assured that the performance is entirely authentic, since the trombonist was there for the adventure as well.”

“Range of Light” is the most recent of the pieces on the program, and employs a different approach, the composer said. Rather than going into the park and writing about his experiences, Lias used four of Ansel Adams’ iconic photos of Yosemite as his inspiration – composing one movement about each of them. Lias will display the images for the audience during the recital.

As an added treat, those in attendance will see the first public showing of a new “Art & Inspiration” short film produced by Denali National Park. This six-minute movie features Lias along with other artists – painters, writers and photographers – who have been inspired by Denali National Park. Special permission was obtained from the National Park Service to premiere the film at this recital.

Lias’ park-inspired pieces have been performed across the country, and upcoming performances are scheduled with the Shreveport, Anchorage, and Fairbanks symphonies, as well as an NEA-funded commission from the Boulder Philharmonic for a new orchestral work to be premiered in 2017 at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.

There will be a reception in the lobby following the concert. Audience members are encouraged to stay and greet the composer and performers. CDs will also be available for sale. A portion of all CD sales will go to the National Park Foundation.

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.