Everything Nac

The Stephen F. Austin State University Alumni Association recently established the W.B. and Erlean Irwin Scholarship to help support students studying in the James I. Perkins College of Education.

This scholarship was endowed in memory of the couple, who resided in Galena Park. W.B. “Bill” was a 1942 graduate of SFA and served in the United States Navy for three years during World War II. At the end of the war, Bill returned to Cushing and taught school for two years before attending Bates School of Law at the University of Houston. The couple has three children Michael, Whit and Penny (Irwin) Spencer.

The W.B. and Erlean Irwin Scholarship will be awarded to currently enrolled students who major in elementary education. Recipients must maintain at least a 3.0 grade-point average.

Anyone wishing to donate to the scholarship may send a check payable to the SFASU Foundation with instructions to apply the gift to the W.B. and Erlean Irwin Scholarship. Donations should be mailed to P.O. BOX 6096, SFA Station, Nacogdoches, TX 75962.

Staci Spring and Keith Lloyd, faculty members in the Stephen F. Austin State University School of Music, will present “Bundles of Sticks: Music for Bassoon & Percussion” at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, March 1, in Cole Concert Hall on the SFA campus.

Bassoonist Spring and percussionist Lloyd have been performing together since meeting in graduate school at Florida State University. Joining the husband-and-wife duo will be guest artist Dr. Jeff Womack, bassoon, and SFA colleagues Dr. Brad Meyer, percussion, and Geneva Fung, piano.

The title for the recital, which is part of the Cole Performing Arts Series, is a clever play on the translation of the word for bassoon in German, along with the idea that percussionists frequently use many different sticks during a performance, according to Spring.

“We borrowed the title from one of the compositions we are performing,” she said. “We thought this was suitable for our collaboration, since every piece on the program includes some combination of bassoon and percussion instruments.”

“Bundles of Sticks” by Daniel McCarthy is a composition for bassoon and percussion in two movements titled “Wood and Wind” and “On the Edge.”

“McCarthy blends the sound of the bassoon with a large number of percussion instruments,” Spring said.

Among the other pieces to be performed is “TRaInspOrt,” a trio for amplified bassoon and two percussion based on a programmatic narrative of a person navigating through a European passenger train. Sounds of the train’s departure, a busy dining carriage and sleeping/snoring are a few of the elements used to create the story, Spring explained. The capitalized letters in the title are used to emphasize the number of players needed for the performance (trio).

The concert also features the Texas premier of Adrienne Albert’s “Swing Shift” for bassoon, piano and drum set. Guest bassoonist Womack joins in for David Maslanka’s “Orpheus” for two bassoons and marimba, and he also plays on an arrangement of Astor Piazzolla’s “Tango Suite” for bassoon quartet. Members of the SFA bassoon studio will fill out the rest of the quartet.

Womack is associate professor of music at Angelo State University specializing in double reeds and music history. In addition to his teaching duties at Angelo State, Womack maintains an active performance schedule as bassoonist in The Mesquite Trio, principal bassoon of the San Angelo Symphony, where he has been called upon to play principal oboe as well, and substitute bassoon with the San Antonio Symphony.
Spring teaches bassoon and musicology at SFA, while Lloyd teaches percussion. Meyer is director of percussion studies, and Fung is staff accompanist.
Tickets for this Cole Performing Arts Series event 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 of Stephen F. Austin State University, will perform the music of such jazz greats as Thelonious Monk and Sammy Nestico when the bands take the stage at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 27, in Cole Concert Hall on the SFA campus.

The Swingin’ Axes will perform an eclectic concert of compositions from across the decades, according to Dr. Gary Wurtz, professor of trumpet and jazz studies at SFA and director of the Swingin’ Axes.

Among the tunes to be played will be the classic arrangement of “Who’s Sorry Now,” written by Sammy Nestico for the Count Basie Band, and the very modern “Jazz Police” by Gordon Goodwin. The Axes will also perform a large jazz ensemble favorite from the 1970s’ “Suncatchers” by Marius Nordal, made famous by the One O’Clock Lab Band of the University of North Texas.

“The band is also proud to feature graduate baritone saxophonist Carly Hood on ‘Quiet Time,’ recorded by the Dallas Jazz Orchestra on their album ‘Scrapbook,’” Wurtz said.

Among the pieces to be performed by the Swingin’ Aces, directed by Dr. Deb Scott, professor of trombone, are the swing piece “Well You Needn’t (It’s Over Now)” by Thelonious Monk and arranged by Mark Taylor; the ballad “First Child” by Robert Curnow as performed on the “Stan Kenton Plays Chicago” CD; and the swing piece “Groove Blues” by Don Menza. The Aces’ program will also feature the funk piece “Don’t Be Silly” by Lars Halle and the Latin “Cabeza de Carne” by Matt Harris.

The concert is a 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.

Stephen F. Austin State University’s Stone Fort Museum will host a book signing and reception from 3 to 5 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 24, honoring the release of “African Americans in Nacogdoches County,” by Jeri Mills.

Mills, a retired educator and contributing writer to The Daily Sentinel, will share images from her book and describe the process of collecting community history. Copies of her book will be available for purchase for $21.99 each.

After the Civil War and the end of slavery, African-Americans throughout the United States faced the challenge of survival while attempting to repurpose their lives. Through the images in this book, readers will get a glimpse of the unique culture that developed in the small African-American communities in Nacogdoches County.

Part of “The Images of America” series, there are sections that highlight occupations, religion, education, social opportunities and prominent families during the growth of the African-American society. The book uses archival photos to explore the distinctive local history of this area while striving to make history available and accessible.

Mills received her Bachelor of Science from Jarvis Christian College in Hawkins, Texas, and a master’s degree from Georgia State University in Atlanta. An active researcher and writer on African-American history, her works have been published in local schools, state and national publications.

The Stone Fort Museum is a regional history museum located on the campus of SFA. Museum exhibits interpret the natural and cultural history of the region. The current exhibit, “Misery & Remedy: the Rise and Eradication of Epidemic Diseases in East Texas,” will run through December 2015.

For more information or museum hours, call (936) 468-2408, email stonefort@sfasu.edu or visit www.sfasu.edu/stonefort.