Everything Nac

Stephen F. Austin State University’s Department of Earth Sciences and Geologic Resources will host an Earth Science Day event from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Oct. 7 in the Cole STEM Building Atrium.

This free open house event is open to the public and joins the American Geosciences Institute in celebrating Earth Science Week. Visitors who have minerals, rocks or fossils they would like to have identified are encouraged to bring them for a free identification service. There will be geology-themed activities for all ages, including “Digging for Dinosaurs,” smashing geodes and an augmented reality sand table.

“Our annual Earth Science Week celebration is designed to increase awareness and help our community gain a better understanding of the planet we call home,” said Dr. Wesley Brown, chair of the department. “The enthusiastic faculty and students are eager to open the doors of the Department of Earth Sciences and Geologic Resources to the community and answer all earth-science-related questions.”

This year’s theme, “Geoscience Innovating for Earth and People,” emphasizes the many ways that innovations and problem-solving in the geosciences are helping communities around the world create healthier, increasingly more sustainable lives, according to Dr. Liane Stevens, assistant professor of geology.

“Our lives are so intertwined with the Earth that we often don’t realize the many ways that earth science impacts us,” Stevens said. “Beyond accessing resources and planning for natural disasters, earth scientists are working to protect our planet and environment.”

For more information, contact Stevens at stevenslm@sfasu.edu or (936) 468-2024.

ABOUT STEPHEN F. AUSTIN STATE UNIVERSITY
Stephen F. Austin State University, the newest member of The University of Texas System, began a century ago as a teachers’ college in Texas’ oldest town, Nacogdoches. Today, it has grown into a regional institution comprising six colleges — business, education, fine arts, forestry and agriculture, liberal and applied arts, and sciences and mathematics. Accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, SFA enrolls approximately 11,000 students while providing the academic breadth of a state university with the personalized attention of a private school. The main campus encompasses 421 acres that include 36 academic facilities, nine residence halls, and 68 acres of recreational trails that wind through its six gardens. The university offers more than 80 bachelor’s degrees, more than 40 master’s degrees and four doctoral degrees covering more than 120 areas of study. Learn more at sfasu.edu.

The Children’s Performing Arts Series at Stephen F. Austin State University will open its 2023-24 season with a touring musical of the childhood favorite “Cinderella” on Thursday, Oct. 19, in W.M. Turner Auditorium on the SFA campus.

Bullied by her two mean stepsisters, Cinderella’s future looks bleak until her Fairy Godmother casts a spell and sends her to the ball. How will the Prince ever find her when she flees at midnight, leaving behind a single glass slipper?

“True to the story, bringing to life this tale for all time, ‘Cinderella’ is full of original modern songs, bursting with more hilarity than you can imagine and, of course, a happy ending,” said Diane Peterson, Fine Arts Box Office manager and director of the children’s series.

The Children’s Performing Arts Series, presented by the Micky Elliott College of Fine Arts, features shows designed to entertain, educate and engage young audiences of all ages, according to Peterson.

Presented by The Panto Company USA, “Cinderella” targets children in kindergarten through sixth grade. Performances are at 9:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. Turner Auditorium is located in Griffith Fine Arts Building, 2222 Alumni Drive.

Tickets are $9 for individuals and $7 per person for groups of 20 or more. Call 936.468.6407 or 888.240.ARTS or visit sfasu.edu/boxoffice for tickets or more information.

The Stephen F. Austin State University School of Art and SFA’s filmmaking program will premiere of its summer film project, “CUT!,” at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 27, in Turner Auditorium on the SFA campus.

Written and directed by filmmaking Professor Brad Maule, with special guest director Derek Wayne Johnson, “CUT!” is about a struggling film school in East Texas that hires a Hollywood filmmaker, Skippy Digler III, to direct a student feature film, “Massacre in the Pines.” The students get more than they bargained for when they realize Skippy isn’t all he’s cracked up to be.

Longtime filmmaking Professor William Arscott served as producer with Johnson as co-producer and film editor. The comedy-drama stars Maule as Digler, along with Triston Dodson, Carter Colvin, Riley Green and Bill Small. Music is by Greg Sims, and director of photography is Tim Johnson.

Derek Wayne Johnson, an SFA filmmaking alumnus, is known for his documentaries “John G. Avildsen: King of the Underdogs,” highlighting the life and career of the Oscar-winning director of “Rocky” and “The Karate Kid,” “40 Years of Rocky: The Birth of a Classic,” narrated by Sylvester Stallone, and “STALLONE: Frank, That Is,” detailing the highs and lows of Sylvester’s not-so-famous brother, Frank Stallone. Johnson recently joined the filmmaking faculty at SFA.

“Every summer, SFA film students make a full-length feature film,” explains Johnson. “This has been a longstanding tradition and separates the SFA filmmaking department from many other film schools across the globe. Although the students earn college credit for their efforts, the procedures, protocols and outcomes are nothing less than professional. I’m honored to join SFA as the new assistant professor of filmmaking and hope to bring my professional Hollywood experience to the program to educate and inspire the next generation of filmmakers.”

Admission to the premiere of “CUT!” is free. A question-and-answer session with the cast and crew will follow. For more information, contact the School of Art at (936) 468-4804.

The first event in the return of the University Series at Stephen F. Austin State University will be a performance by Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Ruthie Foster at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 12, in the newly renovated Turner Auditorium in Griffith Fine Arts Building.

With the completion of Griffith’s renovations and expansion, Micky Elliott College of Fine Arts revives its touring performance series, which was discontinued during the Covid pandemic, with four exciting shows for the 2023-24 Centennial Season. Performances include Foster on Oct. 12: Grammy and Dove award winners and Grand Ole Opry members Dailey and Vincent Dec. 14; comedian Joe Zimmerman Feb. 22; and acclaimed trombonist, composer and producer Delfeayo Marsalis performing with SFA’s Swingin’ Axes jazz band April 19.

Raised in a family of gospel singers, Foster performs blues, jazz, folk, soul and gospel, often being compared to Bonnie Raitt and Aretha Franklin. Touring extensively around the world, her ninth studio album represents a new high-water mark for the Austin-based veteran blues artist. “Healing Time” finds Foster pushing her boundaries as a singer and songwriter more than ever before.

Single event tickets are adult, $35; senior (62 or better), $30; SFA faculty/staff, $18; non-SFA student/youth, $15; SFA student, $3. To purchase tickets, call the Fine Arts Box Office at (936) 468-6407 or (888) 240-ARTS, or visit sfasu.edu/boxoffice. The Fine Arts Box Office is located in the second floor lobby, Griffith Fine Arts Building, SFA campus.

Award-winning pianist Dr. Martin Kesuma will perform works by Nikolai Kapustin, Alberto Ginastera, Manuel de Falla and other varied composers when he presents a solo recital at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 5, in Cole Concert Hall on the Stephen F. Austin State University campus.

A native of Jakarta, Indonesia, Kesuma has performed as a solo pianist and chamber musician throughout Indonesia, Canada and the United States. Prior to his recent move back to Texas, he worked as a collaborative pianist and a chamber music instructor at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, Canada. He is currently pursuing a performance certificate degree at Texas State University.

For this recital, Kesuma said he chose pieces “from many different styles that are not performed too often, despite how effective or beautiful they are.”

“Several years ago, when I received an invitation to record a solo album, I started thinking about how I wanted to play pieces by more diverse composers,” he said. “‘Detours’ was released by Centaur Records in 2021, and it features pieces by composers from Spain, Russia, Argentina, Japan, Indonesia, Australia and the U.S. In some ways, this recital is a continuation of my previous album, showcasing pieces by composers of different backgrounds.”

Among the works are Kapustin’s Variations, Op. 41, which Kesuma describes as “a fun piece that sounds like a jazz improvisation that you would hear in a café – highly virtuosic. A lot of scholars believe that the theme comes from Stravinsky’s opening of ‘The Rite of Spring.'”

Ginastera’s Piano Sonata No. 1, Op. 22 is a four-movement piece, written by a prominent Argentinian composer. It incorporates many different Argentinian dances in the piece. “It is a highly challenging piece with lots of fast octaves,” Kesuma said,

Although de Falla’s “Fantasía Bética” is considered one of the Spanish masterpieces, it is not played very often. “A lot of the techniques used in this piece are quite unusual in piano playing,” Kesuma said, “and this is due to the use of the piano to imitate Southern Spanish folk styles, such as the use of castanets, guitars, heel stampings and cante jondo.”

Kesuma has won prizes in competitions including the Dickinson Piano Competition, PianoHouse International Piano Competition, New York International Music Concours, Canadian International Music Competition, the ASEAN International Concerto Competition and the Texas State International Piano Festival Concerto Competition.

Admission is free. Cole Concert Hall is located in Wright Music Building. For more information, contact the School of Music at (936) 468-4602 or visit sfasu.edu/music.