Everything Nac

World-famous trombonist Abbie Conant will bring her 600-pound quadraphonic sound system to the campus of Stephen F. Austin State University when she performs in concert at 7:30 p.m. Monday, March 25, in the newly refurbished Music Recital Hall in the Wright Music Building.

Abbie Conant

The subject of a chapter in journalist and author Malcolm Gladwell’s New York Times Bestseller, “Blink,” Conant will also participate in the International Views on Gender roundtable discussion on campus scheduled for 6 p.m. Tuesday, March 26, in LAN 142, during which time the roles of men and women in different societies and cultures will be discussed.

“My students and I are very excited to work with a trombonist of this caliber,” said Deb Scott, associate professor of trombone at SFA. “Over the course of several days, she will teach many lessons and masterclasses for us. She is a very creative performer who incorporates theater in her music. It is rare to see this kind of performer in Nacogdoches.”

For the Monday night concert, Conant and Osborne will present their 2013 spring tour of internationally celebrated multi-media work, “Music for the End of Time,” which showcases concert-length work for trombone, video and quadraphonic electronics whose six movements are based on St. John the Devine’s Book of Revelation.

“Our goal has been to explore the new dimensions of performance art and create substantial, meaningful works for the trombone,” according to Conant.

Conant, professor of trombone in Staatliche Hochschule fuer Musik in Cologne, Germany, received her bachelor’s degree from Temple University, studied at Yale University and then received her master’s degree from the Juilliard School and a master diploma from the Staatliche Hochschule fuer Musik. She has been solo trombonist for the Royal Opera in Turin, Italy, and for the Munich Philharmonic. The International Trombone Association described her as being “in the first rank of world class trombonists.”

Osborne, noted author and composer, is well known for his activism for women in music and has written many articles about the social and political influences of symphony orchestras. In 1998, he was recognized by the International Alliance for Women in Music for his services to women in music.

Conant and Osborne have toured in more than 155 cities in America and Europe to great critical acclaim for Osborne’s compositions.

Tuesday night’s roundtable discussion, sponsored by the Gender Studies Program at SFA, will feature a number of other individuals in addition to the guest performers who will discuss international perspectives on gender. Among them are Sadia Cheema, graduate student from Pakistan, Fatime Karagama, undergraduate student from Cameroon, and David Rex-Galindo, assistant professor of history at SFA from Spain.

Tickets for the concert are $5 for adults, $4 for seniors and $2 for students. For tickets or more information, call the Fine Arts Box Office at (936) 468-6407 or visit www.finearts.sfasu.edu.

The SFA Steel Band, also known as the “Jacks of Steel,” will perform an exciting and diverse concert of music under the direction of Brad Meyer, director of percussion studies, at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 26, in Cole Concert Hall in the Wright Music Building on the Stephen F. Austin State University campus.

One of the most popular and requested ensembles in the SFA School of Music, the group is comprised of 13 members playing steel pan, ethnic percussion, drumset and bass guitar, according to Meyer.

The concert will feature various music styles, including socas, sambas, funk and rock, Meyer said. Notable pieces include several new compositions by Iowa-based composer Tyler Swick, such as “Ra Ra Ra” and “Las’s Lap.” Additionally, Meyer has arranged the pop tune “Locked Out of Heaven” by Bruno Mars for the performance, and Plano junior Jason Dupree has composed an original composition titled “Amnesai from Anesthesia.”

“This concert is sure to get you in the mood for warmer weather with the uptempo, vivacious sounds of the steel band,” Meyers said.

The concert is a joint presentation of the SFA College of Fine Arts and School of Music.

Tickets are $5 for adults, $4 for seniors and $2 for students. For tickets or more information, call the Fine Arts Box Office at (936) 468-6407 or visit www.finearts.sfasu.edu.

The Stephen F. Austin State University School of Theatre will present a student production of Marina Carr’s “Woman and Scarecrow” at 7:30 p.m. Friday, March 22, and at 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 23. All performances will be in the Downstage Theatre, located on the first floor of the Griffith Fine Arts Building on the SFA campus.

Irving senior Kat Edwards is directing the full-length play.

“On her deathbed, Woman questions the choices she made in life with her ‘life guide’ and friend, Scarecrow,” Edwards said in describing the play. “As the two women wonder what could have been, we become aware of a dark presence in the wardrobe. In the end, Woman and Scarecrow are forced to say goodbye as Woman’s time runs out.”

Edwards served as assistant director for the SFA production of “Little Shop of Horrors” last fall and assistant director for “Three Sisters.” She was also assistant director for “Tom & Jerry.” She directed “For Whom the Southern Belle Tolls” and “The Goblins Plot to Murder God.” She served as assistant director and choreographer for “The Saga of Cuchulain.”

The cast features Spring Branch junior Allison Day as Woman; Longview junior Valarie McKleckie as Scarecrow; Fairfield junior Eric Gibson as Him; and Center junior Hannah Johnson as Auntie Ah.

The technical team includes Virginia Arteaga, Houston senior, as stage manager; Sarah Chavez, Nacogdoches sophomore, assistant director; Landy Trapp, Crystal City junior, scenic designer; Megan Thomas, Houston senior, costume designer; Chelsae Sliger, Yorktown senior, lighting designer; Whitney Daniel, Terrell senior, sound designer; Kaiti Turney, Jacksonville senior, props designer; and Ashe Vernon, The Woodlands sophomore, makeup designer.

“Woman and Scarecrow” is recommended for mature audiences.

Tickets are $5. For tickets or more information, call the Fine Arts Box Office at (936) 468-6407 or visit www.finearts.sfasu.edu.