Everything Nac

    The Stephen F. Austin State University offices of Student Affairs Programs and Multicultural Affairs will hold the third annual MLK Day of Service beginning at 10:30 a.m. Monday, Jan. 16, in the Twilight Ballroom of the Baker Pattillo Student Center.

    The event will partner with the City of Nacogdoches Parks and Recreation Department for service projects at the city’s many parks and recreation facilities. The theme of the event is “Reflecting. Renewing. Leaving a Legacy.” About 150 student volunteers are needed to take part in projects such as park cleanup, painting, and landscaping. Participants will receive a free lunch and event T-shirt.

    For the third year, SFA has received grant funding from the Corporation for National and Community Service to support the MLK Day programs. Numerous other colleges across the nation participate in the annual event.

    The first MLK Day of Service at SFA in 2010 focused on helping Nacogdoches schools prepare for the new semester. This included painting benches, creating leadership-themed art projects and revitalizing landscaping. The 2011 event focused on projects at nursing homes and senior centers.

    “It’s exciting that SFA students can be part of such a widespread movement to remember Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. through giving back to their community,” said Jamie Bouldin, assistant director for leadership and service at SFA. “By focusing on the city’s outdoor areas this year, the entire community will be able to see the impact of our students’ service.”

    Bouldin said she hopes students will also pause to think about their own personal legacies, including the impact they will have at SFA and what they will leave behind after graduation.

    Participating students will be assigned to teams as they arrive at the Twilight Ballroom. Groups will be chosen randomly to give students the opportunity to work with people with whom they don’t regularly interact. Spots will be assigned on a first-come, first-served basis, so Bouldin suggests arriving as close to 10:30 a.m. as possible to secure a spot.

    “We want to accommodate everyone who wants to participate, but once the spots are full, they’re full,” Bouldin said.

    Dr. Nina Ellis-Hervey, professor in the SFA human services department and school psychology program, will serve as keynote speaker for the MLK Day of Service opening ceremonies.

    Congress passed legislation in 1983 to commemorate the life of civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. In 1994, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, which falls on the third Monday of each January, was named a national day of service and is sponsored by the Corporation for National and Community Service and the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change.

    “We are so excited that students once again have the chance to make a difference in the community through the MLK Day of Service,” Bouldin said. “We hope this event continues to grow and benefit the community in many ways.”

    In the case of inclement weather, the make-up day for this event will be Saturday, Jan. 21.

    For more information, contact Bouldin at (936) 468-1088 or jfbouldin@sfasu.edu.

    As part of its monthly independent film series, the Stephen F. Austin State University College of Fine Arts and School of Art will present a free, one-night screening of “Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter … and Spring” at 7 p.m. Friday, Jan. 6, at The Cole Art Center @ The Old Opera House in downtown Nacogdoches.

    The 103-minute film follows the lives of a Buddhist master and the young boy he is teaching through experience and exercises how to grow up in wisdom and compassion. The film is divided into five segments, each representing a different period of their lives, roughly 10 to 20 years apart.

    According to Sony Picture Classics’ website, director Ki-duk Kim said he “intended to portray the joy, anger, sorrow and pleasure of our lives through four seasons and through the life of a monk.”

    The film, which premiered in 2003, was selected for several film festivals, including the Toronto and Sundance film festivals. It received the Audience Award at the San Sebastian International Film Festival. The film is rated R.

    The Cole Art Center is located at 329 E. Main St. Admission is free.

    “Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter … and Spring” is sponsored in part by Dr. Michael Mollott and Nacogdoches Gastroenterology, P.A.; SFA Friends of the Visual Arts and Nacogdoches Junior Forum. For more information, please call (936) 468-1131.

    Registrations are now being accepted for the spring classes offered through the Stephen F. Austin State University Music Preparatory Division.

    Students, including adults, may register for weekly private lessons in voice, harp, piano, classical guitar, violin, Suzuki violin, viola, cello, bass, flute, percussion and other requested instruments. The 16-week classes, taught by upper-level music preparatory faculty, begin the week of Jan. 16. The 12-week classes, taught by SFA student instructors, begin the week of Feb. 6.

    Dr. Ping-Ting Lan will teach a 14-week intermediate adult piano class that will meet on Mondays from 6 to 7:30 p.m., beginning Jan. 30, in Room 302 of the Griffith Fine Arts Building.

    Laura Treadaway’s musicianship classes will begin Monday, Jan. 23, and Wednesday, Jan. 25, in Room 302 of the Griffith Fine Arts Building.

    Kindermusik classes for three different age levels, spanning newborns to 5-year-olds, will begin the week of Jan. 30 and be taught by certified Kindermusik teacher Karen Greer.

    The early childhood music and movement program is based on the beliefs that every child is musical, every parent is the child’s most important teacher, the home is the most important place for learning, and music nurtures a child’s development, explained Pat Barnett, director of the Music Preparatory Division.

    Registration forms for private lessons and/or classes can be downloaded from the division’s website at www.music.sfasu.edu/prep and turned in at either the SFA School of Music office, Room 150 in the Tom and Peggy Wright Music Building on the SFA campus, or at the Music Prep House, 3028 N. Raguet St. On-line registration for 16-week and/or 12-week private lessons is also available on the website.

    For more information, contact Barnett via e-mail at pbarnett@sfasu.edu or call her at (936) 468-1291. The Music Prep office is open 1 to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, or by appointment.

    Second through eighth grade students interested in joining the SFA Children’s Chorus or Junior Chorale can audition for the groups from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 7, at the Music Prep House, 3028 Raguet St.

     The ensembles, both directed by Nicole Stewart and Marissa Maddoux, are offered through the Music Preparatory Division of the Stephen F. Austin State University School of Music. Auditioning students should prepare to sing a simple song such as “America the Beautiful” or “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star,” without accompaniment.

     The Children’s Chorus, open to second through fifth graders, supplements the choral education and performance opportunities available to young people in East Texas, explained Pat Barnett, director of the Music Preparatory Division. The group focuses on intonation, breathing, proper vocal production and diction skills while learning a varied repertoire. The chorus will meet from 4:45 to 5:45 each Monday. Tuition is $100, and the new member uniform fee is $20.

     The Junior Chorale, open to sixth through eighth graders, performs more advanced choral music than the chorus, singing in multiple parts and foreign languages. Members will learn intermediate theory, sight-singing and ear training. The chorale will meet from 5:15 to 6:30 p.m. on Tuesdays. Tuition is $110, and the new member uniform fee is $20.

     “Students who have a sincere love of music and singing will enjoy these ensembles,” said Barnett. “Both groups present an end-of-the-semester concert and perform at community events.”

     For more information about the choirs or any of the private or group lessons offered by the Music Preparatory Division, go to www.music.sfasu.edu/prep or contact Barnett via e-mail at pbarnett@sfasu.edu or call her at (936) 468-1291.