Everything Nac

The University Band and the Symphonic Band at Stephen F. Austin State University will present the concert program “Inspiration” when the bands perform at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 19, in W.M. Turner Auditorium on the SFA campus.

The selected works to be performed were inspired by folk songs and dances, tragic life events and the dream of flight, according to Dr. James Dreiling, interim assistant director of bands at SFA.

The University Band will open the concert with “Into the Clouds” by Richard Saucedo and guest conducted by graduate assistant Dwight Watson of Lavon.

“This lively fanfare is filled with rhythmic energy and was inspired by the composer’s dream of flight,” Dreiling said.

The University Band will also perform “Festivo” by Czech composer Vaclav Nelhybel and the popular ballad for band “As Summer Was Just Beginning” by Larry Daehn, who was inspired to write the piece following the untimely death of gifted actor James Dean. Graduate assistant Taylor Goodwin of Ennis will guest conduct.

The University Band will conclude its portion of the concert with the march “Liberty Fleet” by Karl L. King.

“Along with John Phillip Sousa and Henry Fillmore, King is known as one of the most prolific march composers, having composed more than 180 marches,” Dreiling said. “This march, composed in 1942, is one of his lesser-known marches and was inspired by a fleet of war ships used in World War I.”

The Symphonic Band opens the second half of the concert with “Westport Overture” composed by SFA music faculty member Dr. David Campo, director of the Lumberjack Marching Band, who “has a growing reputation as a composer for wind bands,” Dreiling said. The Symphonic Band will also perform “Variations on a Korean Folk Song” by John Barnes Chance and “Heaven’s Light” composed by Steven Reineke.

“This moving piece was commissioned by Evans High School in Evans, Georgia, after the death of high school band member Holly Spivey and her parents in a house fire,” Dreiling explained.

The concert will conclude with the celebratory piece “Albanian Dance” by Shelley Hanson based on the popular Albanian folk tune “Shota,” which seeks to re-create the festive mood of a raucous village dance, Dreiling said.

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 success of the initial screening of “Found Footage: Rediscovering Nacogdoches” during the 2016 Nacogdoches Film Festival has led festival organizers and film producers to schedule subsequent viewings to meet public demand.

“Found Footage” features scenes of Nacogdoches people and businesses in 1938 documented on film. The Stephen F. Austin State University College of Fine Arts and Humanities Texas, in association with the Charles and Lois Marie Bright Foundation, championed the effort to restore the forgotten 16mm film, labeled “Nacogdoches 1938.” Discovered at Nacogdoches High School in 1967 but forgotten until a few years ago, the film was digitally restored and viewed in 2014 for the first time in 70 years.

Newly restored and accompanied by comments from today’s local citizens who grew up in the town during that by-gone era, “Found Footage” includes scenes from downtown businesses, including Novel Bright’s Grocery, College Grocery, Navarro Cox Wholesale Tires, Banita Laundry and Dry Cleaning and others, as well as school and university student activities.

The next screenings of the film will be at 10:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. Saturday, April 16, in The Cole Art Center @ The Old Opera House in downtown Nacogdoches. The film is approximately 30 minutes. Director Peyton Paulette and interviewer and producer Brad Maule will attend and be available for questions following the screening. William Arscott, Regents Professor in the SFA School of Art and filmmaking area advisor, is a co-producer.

SFA graduate and filmmaker George Hooker’s eight-minute promotional film “Nacogdoches: The Oldest Town” will also be shown at the screenings.

“Found Footage” was so popular that all of the first 100 DVDs made to sell during the festival were quickly purchased. Film organizers have ordered 500 new DVDs that will be for sale at the screenings.

For more information, call The Cole Art Center at (936) 468-6557.