Everything Nac

Stephen F. Austin State University students will have the opportunity to study abroad and participate in the Cannes International Film Festival in France this May.

During May 7-23, students enrolled in HMS 426: Field Experience in Human Sciences will work at the American Pavilion at the Cannes Film Festival in various capacities. Dr. Gina Causin, SFA hospitality administration professor who is coordinating the trip and teaching the course, said this hands-on opportunity is perfect for film, video, communications, fashion, media studies, business, culinary, hospitality and event-planning majors.

“This class is the opportunity of a lifetime. Attending the Cannes Film Festival helps students broaden their horizons, network with industry professionals and expand on concepts they are taught in class,” Causin said. “At the end of this course, students will have a greater understanding of the production of a global event and have gained hands-on experience in event planning, catering and set-up.”

Prior to the start of the festival, students participate in a two-day festival orientation and tour of Cannes. They attend workshops and seminars designed to help them gain a greater understanding of the history of the event and the business side of the film industry.

Once the festival begins, students work six hours a day at the American Pavilion, which includes a restaurant, coffee bar, conference center and business center.

The students have the opportunity to meet and interact with industry professionals while observing the fast-paced nature of the festival and market.

During the festival, students participate in the Roundtable Series, which allows them to have small-group discussions with noted individuals from both the creative and business side of the film industry.

This programming is available only to students participating in the American Pavilion Worldwide Student programs. Past guests in the Roundtable Series include Tim Roth, Jude Law, Charlie Kaufman and Michael Moore.

Participants also receive membership to the American Pavilion, which provides them access to programming in the Roger Ebert Conference Center. The center hosts panel discussions on topics ranging from film financing to the future of independent film.

The In Conversation Series pairs leading journalists with industry thought leaders. Past participants in this series include Francis Ford Coppola, Malcolm McDowell, Wong Kar-wai, Terry Gilliam, Andie MacDowell, Bruce Dern, Will Forte, Jessica Chastain, Michael Madsen, Josh Charles and James Franco.

In addition, students will have the opportunity to attend red carpet film premieres, watch films and work in other pavilions.

For more information concerning the course, trip and its costs, contact Causin at (936) 468-1411 or causingf@sfasu.edu.

Texas photographer Richard Orton will discuss his book “The Upshaws of County Line: An American Family” at 7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 20, in The Cole Art Center @ The Old Opera House.

The presentation takes place during the fourth annual Nacogdoches Main Street Wine Swirl, which is a wine-and-food pairing event that showcases Texas wineries and local restaurants inside the doors of downtown Nacogdoches businesses.

Although tickets must be purchased in advance to participate in the Wine Swirl, admission to Orton’s talk is free, according to Alisa Steed, events coordinator for the art galleries of Stephen F. Austin State University. Orton’s talk is also presented in observance of Black History Month and is an official Nacogdoches 300 Tricentennial event.

“We are excited to present this event free to our community in honor of Black History Month and as special added value for Wine Swirl participants,” Steed said. “Richard’s enthusiasm and commitment to this project are contagious and highlight an important segment of Nacogdoches County history. Many members of the Upshaw family are expected to attend and participate in the presentation.”

In the late 1980s, Orton became acquainted with the Upshaw family, which had lived for decades in the northwest Nacogdoches County community of County Line. He began a project of documenting the community’s history through photographs and oral histories that resulted in the eventual publication of his book, “The Upshaws of County Line: An American Family” by the University of North Texas Press in 2014 after 25 years of preparation.

Three brothers, Guss, Felix and Jim Upshaw, and their families established County Line in the 1870s. What stimulated Orton’s curiosity about County Line was how quickly emancipated slaves were able to own their own land, and, as a result, had the opportunity to live relatively autonomous, self-sufficient lives while raising their families in the time of Jim Crow.

“That is why I wanted to make photographs there and collect their oral history,” Orton explained. “I was most fortunate to be allowed to do that.

“The story I tell in my book and presentation is personal and universal,” he said. “It’s about the strength of family and community and the resilience of humankind. Because I am white, and the community is black, it speaks directly to the potential for black/white relationships. In County Line, I am on cultural turf not my own, which, in a different sense, is the common experience of black people in America.”

Being in County Line, and being accepted there, gave Orton the opportunity to learn this family’s story, and in telling that story, it became part of Orton’s own, he said.

“The story I tell is the story of a white man given the opportunity to ‘integrate’ into a historical African American community (so to speak),” Orton said.

He does that through images captured through the camera lens and through the words of people born and raised there. His presentation provides an opportunity for diverse audiences “to recognize their commonalities and engage in positive dialogue about race,” he said.

Orton, who is a native of Nacogdoches and returned to East Texas in 2007 after living and working in Austin for 36 years, is active on the boards of the SFA Friends of the Visual Arts and the African American Heritage Project.

For additional information, call (936) 468-1131.

The New York City-based Iktus+ Combo will perform a guest recital at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 19, in Cole Concert Hall on the campus of Stephen F. Austin State University.

An ensemble of saxophone, electric guitar, piano and percussion, Iktus+ Combo is described as “a slick combination of classical music and straight up rock-n-roll,” according to Dr. Brad Meyer, professor of percussion studies in the SFA School of Music.

“Iktus+ Combo is smart, gritty, elegant, head-bopping – a chamber group of today – comfortable in electric and acoustic worlds,” Meyer said.

In 2012, Iktus presented compelling debut concerts at New York City’s Galapagos Art Space and Brooklyn College. Since then, the group continues to perform locally while touring beyond the five boroughs to schools across the nation, including the University of Kentucky and University of Tennessee.

While repertoire for the full quartet is abundant, this flexible ensemble breaks down into smaller groupings, featuring duos of acoustic guitar/piano and saxophone/percussion, Meyer said. The performers, each highly skilled in their craft, hold performance degrees from top programs across the country, he added.

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.

Cutline: Iktus+ Combo, an ensemble of saxophone, electric guitar, piano and percussion based in New York City, will perform at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 19, in Cole Concert Hall on the SFA campus.

Dr. Andrew Parr, professor of piano at Stephen F. Austin State University, will present an all-Brahms program when he performs at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 18, in Cole Concert Hall on the SFA campus.

Joining him on the program will be his wife and guest pianist, Linda Parr. The major work to be performed is Johannes Brahms’ Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat Major, Op. 83. Linda, who is a piano instructor in the SFA Music Preparatory Division, will perform the orchestra portion of the work.

“The Brahms 2nd piano concerto is a monumental four-movement work of 50 minutes duration,” Andrew Parr said. “I have wanted to play this piece ever since I was in college, but never had the opportunity or the time to devote to learning it. I finally realized that I might never play it if I were to wait for an invitation from an orchestra to program it with me.

“Since Brahms was known to arrange some of his major works, such as the famous Quintet in F Minor for Piano and Strings, for the two-piano medium, I thought this approach could also work for the concerto,” Parr added. “While the unique French horn opening to the first movement or the beautiful cello solo that begins the slow movement cannot really be matched on a second piano, most of the work balances and sounds surprisingly effective in the two-piano format.”

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.