Everything Nac

The Swingin’ Axes and Swingin’ Aces jazz bands at Stephen F. Austin State University will present their “Swingin’ At The Brewery’ fundraiser from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, April 16, at Fredonia Brewery in downtown Nacogdoches.

Admission to the outdoor concert is free, but donations will be accepted to benefit the SFA School of Music’s jazz program, according to Dr. Deb Scott, professor of trombone and director of the Swingin’ Axes.

“When we scheduled our fall concert downtown on the square, we were not sure how well-received it would be,” Scott said. “But we were pleasantly surprised that it sold out. We heard from the community how nice it was to have an outdoor concert, so we wanted to do it again. We have performed once before at the Fredonia Brewery, and we are very grateful to them for hosting us once more. We are not reserving seats this time, so it will be first come, first served.”

In memoriam to the late jazz great Sammy Nestico, the Swingin’ Axes will perform Nestico’s “Tribute to Woody,” “Blues Machine” and “Beautiful Friendship.” The Axes will also perform Steve Owen’s “Goombay Smash” as performed by the U.S. Air Force Airmen of Note. Scott will provide vocals on SFA’s own Mike McGowan’s “Mean to Me.” McGowan is adjunct instructor of music theory and jazz studies at SFA.

The Swingin’ Aces, directed by Dr. J.D. Salas, will perform jazz standards “Splanky” by Neal Hefti and Nestico’s arrangement of “Alright, Okay, You Win.” The Aces will also perform Bob Mintzer’s “Computer” and Mark Taylor’s arraignment of “St. Thomas” by Sonny Rollins.

The concert will also feature a performance by the SFA Jazz Doctors, which is a combo group comprised of SFA jazz faculty, including Scott on trombone, Salas on upright bass, McGowan on piano, Larry Greer on guitar, and Jake Walburn and Gary Wurtz on trumpets.

Shali’s Indian Kitchen on Wheels will be on site, and the brewery’s Rebellion Pizza will be open. SFA Jazz T-shirts and other merchandise will be available for purchase.

Social distancing and face masks are encouraged. The Fredonia Brewery is located at 138 N. Mound St. For additional information, call the SFA School of Music at (936) 468-4602 or the brewery at (936) 305-5125.

Stephen F. Austin State University’s Office of Research and Graduate Studies has announced the recipients of its annual Research and Creative Activity grants, which support initial research efforts by SFA faculty members and prepares them and their research for submission to national grant programs.

ORGS and the Division of Academic Affairs conduct a university-wide call for proposals, and the deadline for submissions is typically the end of October. The University Research Council conducts a blind peer review of all applications. Grant awardees are notified early in the spring semester, and projects are funded through the remainder of the fiscal year.

This year, ORGS received five applications, and the University Research Council selected four recipients. The total monies awarded equals nearly $35,215.

2021 Research and Creative Activity Grants:

Wesley Berg – School of Art, College of Fine Arts

Drawing Rock Art Symbols of the Greater Southwest

Berg’s Creative Activity project proposes to explore rock art locations in southern Utah and northern Arizona. The objective is to create drawing artworks while observing petroglyphic sites and ultimately merging prehistoric iconography with contemporary interpretations of landscape, form and color.

Dr. Flora Farago – School of Human Sciences, James I. Perkins College of Education

Attitudes about Gender in 7-10 year-old Children in Kenya

Farago’s study is to examine Kenyan children’s gender stereotypes, including perceptions about gender, discrimination, gender atypical peers, occupational aspirations and empowerment. The current study extends previous research. The project will lay the foundation for external funding via the Fulbright, Reed Foundation, and the Society for Research in Child Development.

Dr. Lindsay Porter – Department of Biology, College of Sciences and Mathematics

Characterizing the a-latroinsectotoxins of Brown and Black Widow Spiders and Assessing their Potential as Biopesticides

In Porter’s study, two putatively insect-specific toxins, a-latroinsectotoxins, from two local widow spider species will be fully sequenced and the encoded proteins recombinantly expressed. These toxins will be assayed to confirm their toxicity against insects, both for a crop pest and for a vector of human pathogens.

Dr. Dipak Singh – Department of Computer Science, College of Sciences and Mathematics

Artificial Intelligence Solutions to Improve Natural Disaster Resilience and Relief

Singh’s project focuses on studying the characteristics of fake news during natural disasters based on the fine-grained contextual user features, such as user profile history and behavior on social network, and the pattern in the propagation of such news over time using state-of-the-art artificial intelligence technologies.