Everything Nac

The music of composer Jess Langston Turner will be performed in a concert of the Wind Symphony and Symphonic Band at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 20, in Turner Auditorium on the Stephen F. Austin State University campus.

Directed by Dr. David W. Campo, associate director of bands at SFA, the Wind Symphony will feature guest soloist and SFA music faculty member Nita Hudson on Turner’s “Lullaby,” which is taken from a larger work for string orchestra and percussion, “Memorial to Silent Voices.” The text sung by the alto soloist is from the well-known traditional English lullaby, “All Through the Night.”

“While the melody sung by the alto soloist is not the original, snatches of the traditional tune appear periodically in a solo flute,” explained Campo. “The simple melody and the gently rocking chordal accompaniment combine to form a peaceful and soothing lullaby.”

The Symphonic Band, directed by Dr. Tamey Anglley, assistant director of bands, will open the concert with Turner’s “Oh, What A Morning,” which “depicts the dawn of a new morning, followed by rejoicing and an ecstatic celebration of eternal light,” according to Anglley.

Graduate student Cheyenne Handorf of Palestine will conduct “The King of Love My Shepherd Is,” which Turner transcribed for band.

“Originally composed by Dan Forrest for chorus, ‘The King of Love’ is an old Irish hymn tune with a lovely text by Henry W. Baker,” Anglley said.

The third Turner piece will be “Noche Triste,” which is a depiction of “The Night of Sorrows,” an important event in the Spanish conquest of Mexico, according to Anglley. The Symphonic Band will finish its half of the concert with Fred Jewell’s “Quality Plus March.” Jewell is known as the “March King of Indiana,” which is where Turner is currently completing his doctoral degree.

In addition to Turner’s “Lullaby,” the Wind Symphony will perform composer Kevin Walczyk’s “Sojourn of Dreams.” Walcyzk notes, “This work was commissioned to honor and celebrate the life of former band director Jeff Cumpston, who was tragically killed in Zimbabwe. The work’s melodic and harmonic constructs are derived from pitch structures based on Jeff’s name and folk elements indigenous to Zimbabwe. Prior to moving his family to Zimbabwe, Jeff was asked what made him decide to leave the comfortable environment of Oregon to go with his family and teach in Africa. Jeff’s answer was simple: ‘A dream.’ This work takes its title and inspiration from Jeff’s journey to fulfill a dream of service and commitment.”

The final work by Wind Symphony will be Karl King’s stirring march “Invictus.”

“This march was composed in 1921 and dedicated to Merle Evans, bandmaster of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus,” Campo said. “The march features technically challenging parts for the low brass along with sparkling woodwinds in the final strain.”

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 School of Music and the Cole Performing Arts Series will present pianist Courtney Crappell performing a recital at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 19, in Cole Concert Hall on the SFA campus.

“Hungarian Recollections” is a program of solo piano music featuring works by two famous Hungarian composers, Béla Bartók and Franz Liszt, according to Mario Ajero, associate professor of piano pedagogy at SFA.

“After beginning with the elegance, joy and naiveté found within Bartók’s settings of Hungarian children’s songs, the mood darkens and shifts towards spiritual awakening and Hungarian nationalism revealed in Liszt’s third ‘Années de pèlerinage’ (Years of Pilgrimage),” according to Crappell, who will also perform the Hungarian Rhapsody, No. 6.

Crappell is associate professor of piano pedagogy in the Moores School of Music at the University of Houston. A native of south Louisiana, he earned his BM in piano performance at Louisiana State University and completed his MM and DMA degrees in piano performance and pedagogy at the University of Oklahoma.

He is an award-winning published author and has served as an evaluator selected by the International Piano Performance Evaluations Committee in Taiwan. He remains active on the concert stage as a soloist and collaborative artist. During his graduate studies, he was a winner of the University of Oklahoma concerto competition.

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 College of Fine Arts at Stephen F. Austin State University will present The Hot Club of San Francisco at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 22, in W.M. Turner Auditorium on the SFA campus as part of the 2015-2016 University Series.

An evening of vintage silent films accompanied by live gypsy swing will hit Turner stage when The Hot Club of San Francisco presents “Cinema Vivant,” a celebration of imagination and innovation. Like the wandering gypsy musicians of the 1930s, these artists play their guitars and fiddles while matching movements on the screen with characteristic virtuosity, passion and humor, according to Dr. John Goodall, associate dean for the College of Fine Arts.

“These superb, multi-talented musicians will impress our Nacogdoches audience not only for their mastery of multiple instruments, but also for the excitement they bring to the Turner stage,” Goodall said. “It’s going to be an extraordinary night of music and fun.”

Prior to the performance, Herbert Midgley, instructor in the SFA School of Music, will present a 7 p.m. informative talk in Griffith Gallery about the upcoming performance. The gallery is located across the hall from Turner Auditorium, which is located in the Griffith Fine Arts Building, 2222 Alumni Drive.

The audience is invited back to the gallery for a post-performance reception to meet the performers and to honor the event’s corporate sponsor, BancorpSouth.

Single event ticket prices are $25 for adults, $20 for seniors and $10 for students/youth. For tickets or more information, visit www.finearts.sfasu.edu or call the Fine Arts Box Office at (936) 468-6407 or (888) 240-ARTS.

SFA students may purchase Rush tickets for $3 during regular office hours starting Monday, Oct. 19. Students must present a valid SFA ID for purchase and at the door on event night.

For more information on the 2015-2016 University Series, visit finearts.sfasu.edu.

Cutline: The 2015-2016 University Series presented by the SFA College of Fine Arts will feature The Hot Club of San Francisco performing at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 22, in W.M. Turner Auditorium on the SFA campus.

The work of Lauren B. Selden, associate professor of metal/jewelry in the School of Art at Stephen F. Austin State University, was recently published in Metalsmith, a well-known publication of contemporary metalworking and jewelry.

The quarterly magazine is released by the Society of North American Goldsmiths (SNAG), the metalworking and jewelry international organization. SNAG described “Moved by Metal: On Beauty as Interaction” as “a showcase of works that help us discover beauty in the process of engagement.”

“Being featured in this ‘Exhibition in Print’ is one of the highlights of my career,” Selden said. “I am so honored to be part of the publication as well as the traveling exhibition.”

The exhibition was on display at the Center for Craft Creativity and Design in Asheville, North Carolina, accompanying the “Spaces of Production” project this past summer from July 31through Aug. 22.

The “Moved by Metal” selection was curated by author Wendy Steiner, whose books include “Venus in Exile: The Rejection of Beauty in Twentieth-Century Art” and “The Scandal of Pleasure: Art in an Age of Fundamentalism.” Steiner’s essay for this issue reveals how beauty is not inherent in things, or even in the eye of the beholder, but instead lies in the interchange between objects and viewers, according to the article.

“While all of the featured works invite interaction or empathy, they do not all follow the same template for beauty. This issue includes a diverse range of forms and styles, from functional objects to public installations to toys and puzzles. Regardless of their format or scale, each piece has the capacity to move us in some way and to remind us of beauty’s undeniable power,” the article said.

“This publication is the source for knowing the contemporary movements of our diverse field,” Selden said. “In the publication, you will see things ranging from wearable jewelry, art jewelry, sculpture, environmental works, installation and more. Also, the magazine highlights a wide variety of processes and materials that artists today are utilizing to make their work.”

Metalsmith Magazine and SNAG are main resources for Selden’s students as they learn contemporary metalworking and jewelry. Each quarter, the students review the magazine and find inspiration. Many SFA art students are members of SNAG and are becoming more involved in the organization, Selden said.

“When we travel to other conferences and workshops, the communities are linked together, and the knowledge of the makers in our field make it easier to network and find future opportunities,” she said. “I hope that my recent publication gives them the drive they need to continue working and becoming active in the field. If I can lead by example, I expect their possibilities can open further. If I expect the world from them and the highest level of quality, they should expect the same from me and know that I’m continuing to strive to stay current and relevant in our field.”

Selden said the manner in which her work was utilized in the publication may, perhaps, be the greatest honor. Steiner, professor, author and founding director of the Penn Humanities Forum, has written multiple impressive works that discuss beauty in the 21st century.

“My favorite thing about the way they utilized my work in this publication is that they referenced the work in three different locations, under three different subjects, from three very different times in my career,” she said. “I am so grateful that they selected work that spanned from 2007 to the present. I was featured in a section about ‘yearning for connection,’ ‘visualizing interaction,’ and ‘games, toys, playgrounds.’ This diversity of context truly has given me the encouragement that I need in a time where I am questioning the variety of concepts that I employ.”

Selden received her BFA from Murray State University in Murray, Kentucky, and her MFA from Arizona State University. Exhibition accomplishments include solo exhibitions across Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Louisiana and Kentucky. Her work has appeared in juried and invitational exhibitions nationally and internationally. Selden’s outdoor sculptures are currently on exhibition at the Abilene Outdoor Sculpture Exhibition, the Wichita Falls Kemp Center for the Arts Art on the Green Exhibition, and the Palestine Art Track Outdoor Sculpture Exhibition.

An exhibition of the artwork of Peter Andrew, graphic design professor in the Stephen F. Austin State University School of Art, is currently showing at Southern Arkansas University. Tropical Water Colors is exhibited Oct. 5 through 30 at Brinson Fine Art Gallery, 100 E. University, Magnolia, Arkansas. Andrew’s professional experience includes 12 years of art direction in advertising, publishing and freelance work as a design software trainer for the printing industry. He is an artist member of the New York Society of Illustrators and an artist consultant in the artists’ materials industry. His art is also currently represented by galleries in Corpus Christi and Houston, Texas, and in Salt Lake City, Utah, and on the Internet at www.peterandrew.net.