Everything Nac

The Stephen F. Austin State University College of Fine Arts and School of Music will present the Cello Club with Evgeni Raychev in a recital at 1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 21, in Cole Concert Hall on the SFA campus.

Performers will include active Cello Club members playing with Raychev, School of Music faculty member, and his students, who will present the program “Cello Is the New Black.”

In its second season, the Cello Club will perform works by J.S. Bach, Frédéric Chopin, David Popper, Wilhelm Kaiser-Lindemann and other renowned composers.

“The blend of multiple cellos sounding together has been used ever since the Baroque period,” Raychev said. “Several compositions were written for cello ‘a cappella’ choir in the 19th century (with many more in the 20th century), and cello ensembles have been forming since the 1970s with the sole purpose of performing these works.

“With a sound reminiscent of the human voice, a range spanning over four octaves, and its rich dynamic and expressive color, the homogenous sonorities of the cello ensemble are practically unmatched,” he said. “The increasing interest in the sound of that instrument nowadays certainly makes the cello the ‘new black.'”

The recital is part 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.

The Swingin’ Axes and Swingin’ Aces, the jazz bands at Stephen F. Austin State University, will perform at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 20, in Cole Concert Hall on the SFA campus.

Directed by Dr. Gary Wurtz, professor of trumpet and jazz studies at SFA, the Swingin’ Axes will perform a program in tribute to the Boss Brass, the premiere Canadian big band.

“Founded by valve trombonist Rob McConnell in the 1970s, the Boss Brass is an assemblage of the best studio jazz musicians in Toronto, Ontario,” Wurtz said. “The band recorded numerous records over the decades and has earned 17 Grammy nominations.”

The Swingin’ Axes have chosen a program of some of the Canadian band’s greatest hits, including “Just Friends,” “Back Bacon Blues” and “I Got Rhythm.”

The Swingin’ Aces, directed by Dr. Deb Scott, SFA professor of trombone, will perform an electric program of 1940s swing, ’50’s bebop, and ’60s and ’70s funk.

The Aces’ program will include “Route 66” by Bobby Troup and arranged by Michael Sweeney, “The Chicken” by Alfred James Ellis and arranged by Kris Berg, “Night Winds” by Jay Chattaway, “Havin’ a Good Time” by Les Hooper, “Straight No Chaser” by Thelonious Monk and “Little Brown Jug” by Glenn Miller.

The concert is a joint presentation of the College of Fine Arts and School of Music. Cole Concert Hall is located in the Tom and Peggy Wright Music Building, 2210 Alumni Drive.

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.