Everything Nac

Stephen F. Austin State University faculty, staff and preservice teachers, as well as local teachers and high school students, will have a rare opportunity to work with Naomi Shihab Nye, the Young People’s Poet Laureate of the United States, Jan. 21-22.

The author of poetry collections, including “19 Varieties of Gazelle: Poems of the Middle East,” “You and Yours” and “The Tiny Journalist,” Nye also will perform a reading for the public.

“I can’t overstate how incredible it is to have her visit SFA and Nacogdoches,” said Dr. Heather Olson Beal, professor of secondary education in SFA’s James I. Perkins College of Education. “To have such a prolific, renowned writer here is really a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

From 4 to 5:30 p.m. on Jan. 21, Nye will conduct a free, interactive professional development training for SFA faculty, staff and preservice teachers, as well as local teachers, in Room 212 of the Janice A. Pattillo Early Childhood Research Center. Participants will work in small groups using Nye’s poetry across content areas and grade levels.

On Jan. 22, Nye will lead a writing workshop at Nacogdoches High School for participants of the SFA Barrio Writers program. As a chapter of the national Barrio Writers organization, SFA’s program has hosted 30 East Texas students for a week every summer since 2015 to focus on literature and creative writing. Olson Beal is a writing advisor for the program, which is tailored to students ages 13 through 21.

After the workshop, SFA Barrio Writers program participants will help Nye conclude her visit with a free, live reading for the community from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at the Judy B. McDonald Public Library in Nacogdoches.

Nye is a Palestinian American and the first Arab American to be selected as the Young People’s Poet Laureate. She spent her adolescence in both Jerusalem and San Antonio and lived several years in Iran and the United Arab Emirates.

Nye is considered a “wandering poet,” one interested in travel, place and cultural exchange.

“Her work, which includes children’s picture books, young adult fiction, poetry collections and novels, is particularly timely considering recent events in Iran,” Olson Beal said.

Nye lives and works in San Antonio.

For more information on these events, contact Olson Beal at olsonbehk@sfasu.edu.

By Jo Gilmore, marketing communications specialist at Stephen F. Austin State University.

The Stephen F. Austin State University Office of Multicultural Affairs’ sixth annual Diversity Conference will highlight the difference between discussing and demonstrating diversity.

“We talk about diversity, but is this diversity we speak of an actual representation of the diversity people see?” said Jalon Berry, OMA assistant director. “That’s why this year’s conference theme is ‘Diversity vs. Diverse-I-See.’”

Through the conference, the OMA aims to spread diversity and inclusion on the SFA campus and within the Nacogdoches community by inviting speakers to present diversity-related information and experiences to conference attendees.

“Our goal is to educate attendees that being passionate about social justice, diversity and inclusion by serving as an ally is more than just a verbal commitment,” Berry said. “It means that one must engage in actual work to showcase their commitment.”

This year’s keynote speaker is Dr. Michara Delaney-Fields, SFA’s newly-appointed assistant dean of the Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion. Delaney-Fields oversees services and programs that provide access to all students, including Counseling Services, Disability Services, the Veterans Resource Center and Health Services.

Throughout the day, presenters will host breakout sessions on the second floor of the student center discussing various issues, such as fat shaming, gender, race and more.

The sixth annual Diversity Conference will be held from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 7, in the Baker Pattillo Student Center Grand Ballroom. Check-in and on-site registration will be from 8:30 to 9 a.m.

Registration is free and open to the public. Lunch will be provided to those who pre-register. Registration is available at sfasu.edu/oma.

For more information, contact the Office of Multicultural Affairs at oma@sfasu.edu or (936) 468-1073.

By Emily Brown, marketing communications specialist at Stephen F. Austin State University.

The Office of Multicultural Affairs at Stephen F. Austin State University will host its first Brave Space Series of the spring semester at 4 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 12, in the Baker Pattillo Student Center Multimedia Room. The series’ discussion is titled “Cultural Pluralism.”

“I think it is important for us to know that diversity is more than race,” said DaQuan Allen, OMA student ambassador. “Diversity also includes religion, sexual orientation, gender, class, socioeconomic status and many other aspects of identities.”

Each month, OMA’s Brave Space Series provides a forum for open and honest discussion concerning difficult topics.

The discussion is free and open to members of the SFA and Nacogdoches communities. For more information, visit sfasu.edu/multicultural/480.asp.

By Jo Gilmore, marketing communications specialist at Stephen F. Austin State University.

Guest artists Dr. Matthew Shipes, tuba and euphonium, and Dr. Rajung Yang, piano, will present a recital at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 22, in the Music Recital Hall on the campus of Stephen F. Austin State University. Shipes and Yang will also present a master class to members of the SFA tuba-euphonium and piano studios.

Works to be performed include Concertino for tuba, Op. 77 by Jan Koetsier; Sonata for tuba and piano, Op. 34 by Trygve Madsen; Concertino for flute, Op. 107 by Cécile Chaminade; and “Pearls” by Roland Szentpáli.

A former member of the U.S. Air Force Band in Washington, D.C., Shipes is the assistant professor of low brass at San Angelo State University. Yang teaches at Baylor University and has won several awards such as the Bartok-Kabalevsky-Prokofiev Competition in Italy and William Byrd International Competition.

On tuba, Shipes will perform Madsen’s Sonata for Tuba and Piano, Op. 34.

“Set in three movements, the work features the vocal song-like quality of the tuba that surprises many first-time listeners,” said Dr. J.D. Salas, associate professor of tuba and euphonium studies at SFA. “On euphonium, he will perform Szentpali’s ‘Pearls’ – a musical tour de force in three movements which challenges both the soloist and collaborative pianist. Both of these works would be anchor pieces on any recital, but to have them performed on different instruments on the same recital will be a treat for any low brass enthusiast.”

In 2018, Shipes was awarded a grant to create the first-ever ASU Low Brass Festival, bringing 30 students from the region to learn from guest artists and perform in a featured ensemble concert. As a member of The United States Air Force Band, Shipes had many opportunities to perform for former President Obama and foreign leaders and for hundreds of ceremonies at Arlington National Cemetery. He is an associate editor for the International Tuba Euphonium Association’s quarterly journal, both writing articles for the journal and managing the Expert’s Excerpts recurring column.

Praised worldwide as one of the most versatile pianists of her generation, Yang has performed at New York’s Carnegie Hall, New York University, Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., Hill Auditorium in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and major venues in Italy and France.

Admission is free. For more information, call the SFA Fine Arts Box Office at (936) 468-6407 or visit www.finearts.sfasu.edu.