Everything Nac

Stephen F. Austin State University’s SFA Gardens and Nacogdoches Naturally are sponsoring the Great Backyard Bird Count from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, Feb. 13, at the Pineywoods Native Plant Center, 2900 Raguet St.

This free, outdoor event will have activities designed to increase knowledge and appreciation of birds for youth and adults. A variety of family-friendly, hands-on learning activities will be set up, including using binoculars, learning bird identification skills, playing bird games and making bird-related crafts.

In addition, there will be opportunities to participate in the national Great Backyard Bird Count as participants count birds for science with assistance from the Pineywoods Audubon Association and Texas Parks and Wildlife Department non-game ornithologist, Cliff Shackelford.

Shackelford will lead guided hikes along the trails of Tucker Woods at the Pineywoods Native Plant Center. Also, Julie Shackelford will present a walk and short talk titled, “Creating Backyard Bird Habitats.”

Winter is the ideal time for bird watching and the Pineywoods Native Plant Center is a haven for local birds. Participants should wear comfortable walking shoes and weather-appropriate clothing.

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology, National Audubon Society, Bird Studies Canada and many international partners are leading the Great Backyard Bird Count. The Great Backyard Bird Count is powered by eBird, and the count is made possible in part by founding sponsor Wild Birds Unlimited.

For more information, contact Kerry Lemon, SFA Gardens assistant educational coordinator, at (936) 468-5586 or lemonkb@sfasu.edu.

Winners of the 2016 Schmidbauer Young Artist Competition at Stephen F. Austin State University are, front row, from left, Ethan Le, violin, first prize; Eric Chen, piano, second prize; and Alexander Davis-Pegis, cello, third prize. With the young musicians are, back row, from left, Carolyn Andrews, SFA Friends of Music Schmidbauer Committee chairwoman; Dr. A.C. “Buddy” Himes, dean of the College of Fine Arts; Dr. Gary Wurtz, interim director of the School of Music; and Dr. Gene Moon, competition chairman. Guest adjudicator for this year’s event was Dr. Clifton Evans, director of orchestras at the University of Texas at Arlington. The annual competition for piano and strings offers prizes that include cash awards, scholarship incentives from the SFA School of Music and performance opportunities with orchestras.

Mario Ajero, associate professor of piano pedagogy at Stephen F. Austin State University, will present a faculty recital at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 11, in Cole Concert Hall on the SFA campus.

The piano concert, which also features Ajero’s children, Antonio, 11, and Olivia, 7, is a joint presentation of the SFA College of Fine Arts and School of Music and is part of the Cole Performing Arts Series.

Ajero has performed before SFA audiences with his son, who is an award-wining pianist, on several occasions.

“Many people are familiar with my 11-year-old son Antonio due to his recent accomplishments,” Ajero said. “Not a lot of people realize his 7-year-old sister Olivia also plays piano and shows similar promise. I am looking forward to this opportunity to share the stage and piano with my two kids.”

The program includes Ludwig van Beethoven’s Piano Sonata in E-flat Major, Op. 81a as one of the featured works. It is sometimes known as the “Les Adieux” sonata, according to Ajero. The work was started in 1809 and depicts the departure of Beethoven’s patron Archduke Rudolf who fled Vienna due to the advancing Napoleon and his army upon the city.

“The first movement is entitled ‘Das Lebewohl’ and is a musical farewell to the archduke,” Ajero said. “The opening motive imitates a distant horn call where Beethoven makes his intentions known by writing the word ‘Le-be-wohl’ over the three notes. The second movement, ‘Das Abwesenheit,’ expresses Beethoven’s feeling of loss and loneliness due to the departure of the Archduke. The third movement, ‘Das Wiedersehen,’ is a brilliant display of musical euphoria on Beethoven’s hope to see his friend once again some day.”

Two pieces from “Estampes” by French impressionist composer Claude Debussy will also be on the program. The first piece, “Pagodes” demonstrates the heavy influence of Asian music on Debussy after he witnessed a Javanese gamelan group at the 1889 Exposition Universelle in Paris, Ajero explained.

“His ability to bring this distinct Asian sound to the piano, especially in this piece, was quite revolutionary,” he said. “‘Jardins sous la pluie’ (Gardens in the Rain) is a toccata showpiece with a wide palette of chromatic, whole tone, major and minor keys and relentless rhythms to evoke the imagery of rain-soaked gardens. Within the work, Debussy incorporates French folk tunes for moments of respite, but the storm builds up again to a climax until the sun breaks through as the tonality shifts from minor to major at the end.”

The performance will also feature “Romance” by Sergei Rachmaninoff, which comes from two pieces for six hands at one piano and was composed in 1891 for three sisters who were cousins of the composer.

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.

Future college students will have the opportunity to experience a taste of campus life during a free, action-packed open house Saturday, Feb. 13, at Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches.

Prospective students will have the opportunity to visit with university faculty and staff members, tour the campus and residence halls, and preview academic programs during the SFA Showcase Saturday event.

“There is no better time than Showcase Saturday to visit the beautiful SFA campus and witness firsthand what it’s like to be a Lumberjack,” said Jessica Maynard, assistant director of SFA’s Office of Admissions.

“Guests are encouraged to visit one-on-one with our faculty members to learn more about our quality and personalized academic programs, and our staff members will be available to answer questions about everything from admission requirements to financial aid to residence life,” Maynard added.

SFA is a comprehensive, residential university located in the heart of Texas Forest Country. Approximately 13,000 students attend SFA, which is within a few hours’ drive of Texas’ major metropolitan areas.

Showcase Saturday event registration will begin at 11:45 a.m. on the first floor of the Baker Pattillo Student Center and will remain open until 12:45 p.m. Each person who registers will receive an information packet. The opening program begins at 12:45 p.m. and will provide an overview of the day’s events.

Guests will then be able to visit with representatives of the academic departments until 4 p.m. at the Academic Fair in the Student Recreation Center. A Student Services Fair will be held from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. on the first floor of the Baker Pattillo Student Center.

Campus and residence hall tours will begin at 1:30 p.m. and continue until 5 p.m. Campus tours will take students on a guided walk of the SFA campus, while the self-guided residence hall tours will showcase several halls on both the north and south ends of campus.

Admissions counselors will be available to discuss admission procedures and requirements from 1:30 to 5 p.m. in the Rusk Building, Room 206, and at several freshman and transfer admissions sessions held throughout the day.

Financial aid information sessions will be held at 2:30, 3:15 and 4 p.m. in the Baker Pattillo Student Center’s Twilight Ballroom. Residence Life information sessions will be held at 2:30, 3:15 and 4 p.m. in the Baker Pattillo Student Center’s movie theater on the second floor. Guests can receive information about Orientation Programs at 3:15 and 4 p.m. on the second floor of the student center in Regents’ Suite B.

Participating prospective students will receive a free SFA T-shirt after completing an evaluation form in the tent located in the courtyard area of the Rusk Building.

For more information about SFA’s Showcase Saturday, contact the SFA Office of Admissions at (936) 468-2504 or email admissions@sfasu.edu.

A landscape design seminar will be held from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, Feb. 27, at the Ina Brundrett Conservation Education Building at the SFA Pineywoods Native Plant Center, 2900 Raguet St.

Make plans to explore the fundamentals of landscape design through presentations, discussions and hands-on activities led by SFA alumnus Seth Rodewald-Bates, a landscape architect for Spackman Mossop and Michaels, an international landscape architecture and urban design practice with offices in Sydney, Australia and New Orleans.

Rodewald-Bates has worked on a variety of projects, including numerous campus, waterfront, urban and mixed-use developments. Currently, he is assisting on the design of MCCNO Park, a $60 million linear park in downtown New Orleans. Previously, Rodewald-Bates worked for Sasaki Associates in Boston, Newton Landscape Group in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and the Chinati Foundation, a contemporary arts museum in Marfa, Texas.

During the seminar, participants will gain an understanding of design tools and the design process. They also will learn the basics of navigating surveys, drafting a base plan and developing scale drawings. Attendees can bring their own plans or develop concepts using workshop vignettes. Rodewald-Bates also will discuss current themes in landscape design using ideas that can be applied in personal gardens.

Rodewald-Bates graduated magna cum laude from SFA in 2001 with a bachelor’s degree in horticulture and earned a master’s degree in landscape architecture from Robert Reich School of Landscape Architecture in 2005. He is certified by the Council of Landscape Architectural Registration and licensed as a landscape architect in Louisiana and Mississippi. He is a member of the Robert Reich School of Landscape Architecture Alumni Council.

Space is limited, so make reservations in advance at sfagardens@sfasu.edu or by phone at (936) 468-1832. Cost is $25 for SFA Gardens members and $30 for non-members. A second family member may attend for an additional $10.