Everything Nac

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.

Stephen F. Austin State University’s hospitality administration program is showcasing the artwork of SFA Professor Emeritus of Art and former Regents Professor Charles D. Jones this semester in the Culinary Café. 


An opening reception will be held from 4:30 to 6 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 18, in the Culinary Café located in the James I. Perkins College of Education Annex, 1620 Raguet St. The reception is free, open to the public and celebrates Black History Month. Light refreshments will be served.

The exhibit highlights portraits by Jones of African-American blues musicians who are featured in the book, “My Black Angel,” which was released by the SFA Press in fall 2014. The book also includes poetry by Kim Addonizio and will be available for purchase and Jones to sign during the reception.

Jones, who now serves as director and master printer for the LaNana Creek Press in SFA’s College of Fine Arts, taught printmaking, drawing, Mexican art history and the “Art of The Book” in SFA’s School of Art from 1971 to 2011. During his tenure, he was named a Regents Professor, received the Distinguished Professor Award from the SFA Alumni Association and was honored with a Teaching Excellence Award.

Jones has been an exhibiting artist throughout his career with his work featured in more than 30 one-person exhibitions. His solo exhibitions have been showcased at the Museum of Contemporary Native Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico; The Museum of Printing History in Houston; Tyler Museum of Art; the Museum of East Texas in Lufkin; Longview Museum of Fine Arts; and the Galveston Art Center.

His exhibition “The Vietnam Suite” toured the Midwest under the auspices of Mid-America Arts Alliance and Europe during 1987-88 with exhibitions in England, the Netherlands and France. His recent international exhibition record includes England, Holland, Italy, Mexico, and several cities in Russia and France.

Jones was co-curator for “Octopus Dreams: Contemporary Native American Works on Paper,” an exhibition sponsored by the American Consulate in Ekaterinburg, Russia.

A retrospective exhibit “East Texas Impressions: The Art of Charles D. Jones” is currently on display at the Cole Art Center in downtown Nacogdoches. The exhibit features drawings, prints and paintings by Jones.

The opening reception and book signing are sponsored by the Texas Forest Region and SFA’s hospitality administration program.

For more information about the event or hospitality administration program, contact Dr. Chay Runnels, program coordinator, at runnelsc@sfasu.edu.

Stephen F. Austin State University partnered with Cotton Incorporated again in the fall to collect denim for the Blue Jeans Go Green Denim Recycling Program. The program’s prior success prompted Cotton Incorporated to select SFA as a location to produce a new video detailing information about the program.

“It was such an honor for Cotton Inc. to choose SFA to film and highlight on their corporate website for the promotion of Blue Jeans Go Green,” said Jamie Cupit, instructor in SFA’s School of Human Sciences. “Many universities across the country have participated in this program, so being selected speaks volumes about our students and the success we have experienced here.”

The video follows SFA students around campus as they donate and collect recyclable denim. It can be viewed by accessing http://bluejeansgogreen.org/Spotlight/ and clicking on “Colleges join the cause.”

As part of their efforts to enhance recyclable awareness, SFA students orchestrated the “Green is the New Black” recyclable fashion show. Admission to the show was one piece of used denim clothing, and the top clothing designs were featured on the runway and in exhibits showcasing the students’ talents.

“I have received nothing but positive feedback from Cotton Inc. about the creative ways in which our students execute the program on campus, particularly the fashion show, which was planned as the community event for denim collection,” Cupit said.

Cotton Inc.’s collection goal for participating universities is 500-1,000 pieces of denim; however, SFA far surpassed that goal by collecting 5,750 denim items. The collected denim is repurposed into UltraTouch Denim Insulation, which is distributed to communities in need.

Cupit said the large number of donated denim items would not be possible without the partnership of Goodwill Industries and the Hospice of East Texas, which both donate items to add to SFA’s collection.