Everything Nac

Stephen F. Austin State University is connecting counselors, teachers and administrators by hosting the Counselor Summit from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 29, in the Education Annex, Room 127, on SFA’s campus.

This free event is open to high school counselors, career and technical education teachers, and principals and superintendents in the region. Space is limited, and the first 55 participants to register online will receive reserved seats and a lunch in the Culinary Café. To register visit http://tinyurl.com/p8dh3ey. Door prizes will be awarded.

Three years ago, Dr. Nancy Shepherd, program coordinator for family and consumer sciences at SFA, recognized the important connection counselors and teachers have to students who need up-to-date information about college and career opportunities. This realization helped her conceptualize the Counselor Summit.

“Providing seamless connection from secondary to postsecondary education is possible with educated counselors and teachers who can match student skills and aptitudes with opportunities,” Shepherd said.

This year’s summit will begin with a greeting from Dr. Judy Abbott, dean of SFA’s James I. Perkins College of Education, and Dr. Lynda Martin, the director of the School of Human Sciences. The summit’s keynote speaker is Mick Normington, a business specialist with the Texas Workforce Commission. He will discuss Working Texas Style: The Changing Jobs Market of Texas and Deep East Texas from 9:15-10:15 a.m.

Additionally, the summit will feature a panel discussion with regional employers to help participants gain a local perspective on the job market and what employers are looking for in employees. Shepherd is looking forward to the valuable insights this panel will offer summit attendees.

“Preparing our students to be successful in the workforce is vital to their career success and a community’s strength and vitality,” Shepherd said.

At noon, students in SFA’s hospitality program will serve participants lunch in the Culinary Café. Dr. Steve Bullard, SFA’s interim provost, and other COE program coordinators will speak during lunch.

Another program highlight will showcase COE faculty members and students discussing programs in the college to help recruit students. Dr. Karen Alexander of Achieve Texas, the college and career initiative in Texas, also will present updates concerning House Bill 5 and PrePac, a credential for high school students.

For more information, contact Shepherd at shepherdn@sfasu.edu or (936) 468-1413.

Stephen F. Austin State University’s Culinary Café will host an opening reception for artist and alumnus Jason Daniel from 4 to 6 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 3, in the Culinary Café.

“We encourage our SFA family and the Nacogdoches community to enjoy a night with us at the Culinary Café,” said Dr. Chay Runnels, SFA’s hospitality administration program coordinator and graduate program coordinator.

The Culinary Café features artwork by various artists each semester, and Daniel’s collection has been selected for display during fall 2015.

A Nacogdoches native, Daniel earned his Bachelor and Master of Fine Arts from SFA. For the past 11 years, he has taught art at Jersey Village High School in Houston. Before teaching high school, Daniel taught studio art at Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, for eight years.

“Exhibiting my work at SFA is especially important to me because my roots are here at SFA and in East Texas,” Daniel said. “I discovered that I wanted to be an artist my sophomore year. This was a turning point in my life and has determined so much for me. It’s an honor to have the opportunity to exhibit my work at my alma mater.”

As is reflected in his featured artwork at the Culinary Café, Daniel’s primary interest has been landscape painting since the early ’80s. However, he is expanding his creative interests by including a more surrealist approach to drawing and painting.

“In a sense, all the landscapes have an East Texas pineywoods feel to them. I’m fascinated by how design principles used in landscape painting can be put to a range of purposes,” Daniel said. “In some of the more recent work, I’ve used a wider range of imagery. The imagery is discovered in an intuitive way through the process of working. All of the work is mostly unplanned.”

The reception is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be served, and the dress is casual.

For more information, contact Runnels at (936) 468-2060 or email runnelsc@sfasu.edu.

The Swingin’ Axes and Swingin’s Aces jazz bands at Stephen F. Austin State University will perform classic swing music at their next concert at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 9, in Cole Concert Hall on the SFA campus.

The performance will feature the music of Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Henry Mancini and other great jazz composers.

Directed by Dr. Gary Wurtz, professor of trumpet and jazz studies at SFA, the Swingin’ Axes’ program will include Ellington’s classic “Take the A-Train” and Buddy Rich’s “Basically Blues.”

“Tom Kubis’ roaring rendition of ‘Bill Bailey’ and a beautiful arrangement of Branislau Kaper’s haunting tune ‘Invitation’ are also on the program,” Wurtz said.

The Aces, under the direction of Dr. Deb Scott, professor of trombone at SFA, will perform Joe Garland’s “In the Mood,” made popular by the Glenn Miller jazz orchestra, and “Autumn Leaves” by Joseph Kosma, arranged by former SFA School of Music professor the late Darrell Holt. The arrangement will feature music student Rene Luna, Dallas senior, on alto sax.

The Aces will also perform “Mack the Knife,” composed by Kurt Weill with lyrics by Bertolt Brecht.

“This was originally composed for their well-known music drama, ‘Three Penny Opera,'” Scott said. “Sung by Bobby Darin, it became a No. 1 hit in the United States and Great Britain in 1959.” Overton sophomore Barry Martin will sing the piece with the Swingin’ Aces.

A performance of “Dreamsville” by famous American composer Mancini, which became a hit in 1960 when it was sung by Andy Williams, will feature Martin on the piano. Basie’s “Jumpin’ at the Woodside” will also be performed.

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.

Dr. Kellie Lignitz-Hahn, assistant professor of clarinet at Texas A&M University-Kingsville, will perform a guest recital at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 6, in Cole Concert Hall on the Stephen F. Austin State University campus.

Joining Hahn will be colleague Sehee Lee, lecturer of piano and collaborative piano at Texas A & M University-Kingsville. Among the featured works will be Malcom Arnold’s Sonatina and Grammy-winning composer Libby Larsen’s “Licorice Stick.”

Other pieces on the program include Andre Bloch’s “Denneriana,” Serban Nichifor’s “Carnyx” and Béla Kovács’ “Hommage à Manuel de Falla.”

Hahn is principal clarinetist of the Laredo Philharmonic Orchestra, and she plays with the Victoria Symphony Orchestra, the Corpus Christi Symphony Orchestra and the Corpus Christi Ballet. As a chamber musician, she has performed in various small ensembles with fellow music faculty at Texas A&M University-Kingsville, including performances with the TAMUK Woodwind Quintet and the flute, clarinet, and piano ensemble, Vista Trio. As an active clinician and lecturer throughout the United States, Hahn has presented clinics on the TMEA All-State Etudes at the Texas Bandmasters Association.

Pianist Lee, a native of Korea, has appeared as a collaborative pianist in a variety of venues across the United States, Germany, Luxembourg and Korea. She is a founding member of the LOS Trio with flutist JinHee Oh and cellist Hyon Jae Song. Her trio won the Alexander & Buono International Competition and has been invited to perform in the winner’s recital in New York, New York. Lee performs more than 50 recitals with singers and instrumentalists every year throughout the United States and Korea.

Tickets for this Cole Performing Arts Series recital 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.