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NACOGDOCHES, TEXAS – The Orchestra of the Pines, Stephen F. Austin State University’s flagship orchestral ensemble, will open its season – “A Season of Firsts” – with a concert featuring works from three countries at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 8, in Cole Concert Hall.

Gene Moon is director of orchestral studies for the SFA School of Music and director of the Orchestra of the Pines, which will open “A Season of Firsts” at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 8, in Cole Concert Hall.

“To inaugurate ‘A Season of Firsts,’ I felt a collaborative effort was in order,” Moon said.

Moon and David Howard, associate director of choral activities and director of the SFA Choral Union, attended the University of Central Oklahoma in Edmond, Okla., together. The collaboration will be their first and thus a fitting start to the “Season of Firsts,” Moon said.

“As we discussed repertoire, we decided upon two major works for our ensembles: Ludwig van Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy for piano, chorus and orchestra and Vaughan Williams’ Five Mystical Songs for baritone, chorus and orchestra,” Moon said.

Howard, whose voice “is a beautiful instrument,” Moon said, was an ideal choice as soloist for Williams’ work. The role of the piano in Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy is the centerpiece of the work. For this special engagement, Moon turned to Andrew Parr, SFA professor of music. The Oct. 8 performance will be Parr’s second performance of the work.

“The last time the work was performed by the Orchestra of the Pines was on May 8, 1999,” Moon said.

Howard will also perform as part of a sextet that will include Richard Berry, Scott LaGraff, Debbie Berry and Charlotte Davis, all SFA music faculty members, and LaGraff’s wife, Kim LaGraff, who is an accomplished mezzo-soprano.

“The evening will be host to wonderful musicians on stage and be a night to remember,” Moon said.

The Russian Easter Overture by Rimsky-Korsakov is a famous work in composers’ oeuvre, according to Moon. Unlike many overtures that serve as opening numbers to operas and larger settings, Rimsky-Korsakov’s work is a concert overture, a work meant to stand alone in performance, he said. The upcoming concert is the orchestra’s first performance of the work in its history.

Williams’ Five Mystical Songs is a collection of songs based on the work of English poet George Herbert. Of the five songs, the final movement, “Let All The World in Every Corner Sing,” is one of the most well-known works presented as a liturgical song in many church settings.

Moon described Choral Fantasy as “perhaps the little brother” of Beethoven’s famous ninth symphony, “related by the use of similar melodic material that popularized the larger sibling work,” he said.

The concert is a joint presentation of the SFA College of Fine Arts, School of Music and Orchestra Series. It is sponsored in part by Nacogdoches Memorial Hospital, the Wedgeworth-Wright Endowment for the Arts and the Cole Annuity Fund.

Tickets for “International Delights” are $15 for adults, $12 for seniors and $5 for students. For tickets or information, visit www.finearts.sfasu.edu or call (936) 468-6407.

Cuttline: Gene Moon is director of orchestral studies for the SFA School of Music and director of the Orchestra of the Pines, which will open “A Season of Firsts” at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 8, in Cole Concert Hall.

NACOGDOCHES, TEXAS – The Stephen F. Austin State University College of Fine Arts and the Schools of Music and Theatre will present the pop musical “Little Shop of Horrors” Oct. 9 through 13 at 7:30 p.m. in W.M. Turner Auditorium as part of the 2012-2013 College of Fine Arts’ University Series, “Expressions.”

SFA sophomore Connor Clark, left, who plays Seymour, the florist that discovers the mysterious plant at the center of “Little Shop of Horrors,” rehearses with junior ensemble member Cody Davids for the SFA production of the pop musical comedy that opens at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 9 in W.M. Turner Auditorium. The musical runs through Oct. 13.

Because the School of Theatre and School of Music co-produce a major musical along with the College of Fine Arts on a biennial basis, selecting “Little Shop of Horrors,” with its generational appeal, was considered a natural choice to be included in both the Mainstage Series and University Series, according to Scott Shattuck, director of the School of Theatre and of the production. Shattuck and Stephen Lias, SFA professor of music and the show’s musical director, collaborated on the selection.

“We were looking for a title that would generate enthusiasm in large audiences of different generations – students as well as members of the Nacogdoches community,” Shattuck said. “Of course, we are always looking for shows that provide excellent educational opportunities for our students, and “Little Shop” brings with it challenges –
a pastiche of pop music styles circa 1960, elaborate puppetry, and parody of both low-budget horror movies and big-budget musical comedies – that we haven’t tackled in recent years.”

Audiences typically love all aspects of “Little Shop of Horrors,” Shattuck said, but a few of the songs, including the title number, the ballad “Somewhere That’s Green,” and the gospel-flavored “Suddenly Seymour,” tend to be favorites. The trio of women that serves as both a Greek-style chorus and a lively “girl group” of backup singers reminiscent of the Crystals, the Chiffons and the Ronnettes often rival the principal characters for audiences’ affection, Shattuck said.

“And the huge, hilarious, bloodthirsty, blues-rock singing plant is often described as the star of the show,” Shattuck said.

“Personally, I love Alan Menken’s rockin’ music and the wonderfully witty way that the writer, Howard Ashman, plays with a variety of cultural references,” he said, “especially early rock ‘n’ roll, classic films and B-movies, and musical theatre conventions from the sublime to the ridiculous.”

Before the opening night’s performance, there will be a 7 p.m. informative talk about the musical and puppetry presented by Dr. Alan Nielsen, professor emeritus in the SFA School the Theatre, in Griffith Gallery, located across the hall from Turner Auditorium. The audience is invited back to the gallery for a post-performance reception to meet the cast and to honor the event’s corporate sponsor, Tipton Ford Lincoln.

Tickets are $18 for adults, $12 for seniors and $6 for students, with discounts available for seniors, faculty and staff, students and youth. For tickets or more information, visit www.finearts.sfasu.edu or call (936) 486-6407. Patrons needing an assisted listening device during the performance can check one out at the Box Office. This production is recommended for mature audiences, and details about audience suitability are available at www.finearts.sfasu.edu.