Everything Nac

Stephen F. Austin State University student Taryn Surratt, a senior high lyric mezzo-soprano from Houston, has been selected as one of 10 finalists in the Gilbert & Sullivan Society of Houston’s Inaugural Vocal Scholarship Competition.

Surratt will perform “Se Romeo” from “I capuleti e i montecchi” by Vincenzo Bellini, “Must the Winter Come So Soon” from “Vanessa” by Samuel Barber, and Yum-yum’s aria from “The Mikado” by W.S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan. The competition is from 4 to 6 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 19, in St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Houston.

“I was excited upon hearing that I was one of the finalists for the scholarship competition,” Surratt said. “I performed in the chorus with the Houston Society the summer after graduating high school, and I am a previous recipient of their vocal scholarship. I am looking forward to seeing some familiar faces this coming weekend at the competition. The Gilbert and Sullivan Society of Houston has always been a welcoming and caring group of people.”

This past summer, Surratt attended the Houston Grand Opera’s Young Artist Vocal Academy and sang the role of Agnese in Bellini’s “Beatrice di Tenda” at the London Bel Canto Festival. While focusing on her voice studies at SFA, she has maintained a 4.0 grade point average. She plans to pursue a Master of Music in vocal performance after graduating in May.

The Gilbert & Sullivan Society, Houston’s oldest opera company, has awarded more than $100,000 in scholarships since 1952. This year, finalists from nine universities in three states will compete for more than $5,000 in prize money. Audience members will also get to vote for their favorite for an additional $500 award. Judges for the event will be Conductor Viswa Subbaraman, Carleen Graham of Houston Grand Opera’s HGOCo, and Jeffery Larson of L2 Artists from New York City.

The mission of the Gilbert & Sullivan Society of Houston is to preserve and promote the classic works of Sir William Gilbert and Sir Arthur Sullivan through the production of live musical theater. The organization seeks to entertain and educate the public on the relationship between modern culture and historical works by presenting high-quality performances, while maintaining a strong commitment to the community and fine arts by donating tickets to at-risk children’s organizations and providing scholarships to vocal performance and technical theater students.

Tickets to the competition are $20 and will be available at the door. St. Mark’s Episcopal Church is located at 3816 Bellaire Blvd, Houston.

The Men’s Choir and Women’s Choir at Stephen F. Austin State University will present the program “Elemental: Songs about Earth, Wind and Fire” at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 22, in Cole Concert Hall on the SFA campus.

The program theme lends itself to a wealth of outstanding texts and music based on the subjects of Earth, wind and fire, according to Dr. Tod Fish, associate director of choral activities in the School of Music and the choirs’ director. SFA collaborative pianists Hyun Ji Oh and Dr. Thomas Nixon will accompany.

“This theme has allowed for tremendous diversity in our programming,” Fish said. “The choirs will perform music ranging from earlier masters such as Felix Mendelssohn, Franz Schubert and Clara Schumann to current star composers Jake Runestad and Eleanor Daley.”

Dr. Jennifer Dalmas, professor of violin and viola, and Dr. Brad Meyer, director of percussion studies, will perform on Runestad’s “Sing Wearing the Sky.”

Among the other program highlights is the Women’s Choir performing “Suite” de Lorca by Finnish composer Einojuhani Rautavaara, longtime professor of composition at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, Finland.

“Rautavaara was known as an eclectic composer who fused archaic and modern styles skillfully,” Fish explained. “He displays this ability in his 1973 composition, ‘Suite’ de Lorca, which is a staple in both the mixed and treble choir repertory. Rautavaara takes four dark texts by the Spanish poet Lorca, and merges modern techniques such as semi-tone clusters, mediant triad harmonies and aleatoric effects with ancient techniques such as modality and fauxbourdon. ‘Suite’ de Lorca is neo-classical in nature and fully displays Rautavaara’s gift for pluralism.”

The Women’s Choir will also perform Schumann’s “Er ist gekommen,” arranged by Brandon Williams. Originally composed as a solo lied, Williams arranged the piece for a women’s chorus. The lied was written in June of 1841, while Schumann was pregnant with her and husband Robert’s first child, Marie. “Er ist gekommen” is part of a three-song set (op. 12) from texts by 19th-century poet Friedrich Rückert.

“The piece is driven by a virtuosic accompaniment that will put our outstanding collaborative pianist, Hyun Ji Oh, on full display,” Fish said.

The Men’s Choir will perform “Tu qui consortem” by Brian Bondari, associate professor of music theory and composition at Trinity University and Fish’s friend.

“Brian and I collaborated on this composition during our time together at the University of Kansas,” Fish said. “It is a poignant piece based on a war poem by Sextus Propertius. The story is from the standpoint of Gallus, a mortally wounded soldier. Gallus implores the other soldiers to tell his sister that he fought valiantly but perished at the hand of an unknown enemy. He begs his comrades to ‘save themselves,’ so that their families may ‘rejoice’ in their return home from the atrocities of war.”

Two new graduate students in the School of Music, David Zielke of Albany, Oregon, and Greg Simmons of Lufkin, will conduct two selections with the Men’s Choir. Zielke will also conduct the Women’s Choir on Paul Read’s “Birdsong.”

The program will also feature a portion of the music chosen for the Women’s Choir’s performance at the 2020 Southwest American Choral Directors Conference in Little Rock, Arkansas, this coming March.

Tickets are $8 for adults, $6 for seniors and $3 for students and youth. For tickets or more information, call the SFA Fine Arts Box Office at (936) 468-6407 or visit www.finearts.sfasu.edu.

The Stephen F. Austin State University student chapter of The Wildlife Society placed in a three-way tie for fifth during The Wildlife Society’s national quiz bowl held at the joint conference of the American Fisheries Society and The Wildlife Society in Reno, Nevada.

“Our team did well, but came up just short of Purdue University, the eventual national champions, in the third round,” said Jake Hill, forest wildlife management sophomore and vice president of SFA’s student chapter of The Wildlife Society. “The opportunity to compete at the national level against 18 other major schools from across the U.S. was truly a privilege.”

The SFA chapter also was recognized for its efforts in advocating for the adoption of the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act. This bipartisan legislation seeks to make supplemental funds available for the management of fish and wildlife species in greatest need of conservation as determined by individual state fish and wildlife agencies. Last year, the SFA chapter mailed more than 600 letters expressing their support for the initiative to representatives and lawmakers across the state.

“This conference was all about personal and professional development, and I think the chapter definitely achieved its goals,” said Dr. Daniel Scognamillo, SFA associate professor of forest wildlife management and faculty advisor for the student chapter.

Students participated in a variety of networking events and special sessions related to current issues in wildlife science and management. Scognamillo also facilitated a conference workshop and delivered two presentations regarding wildlife research conducted at SFA.

This was the first-ever joint national conference of these two conservation organizations, drawing approximately 5,000 fish and wildlife professionals from across the U.S., Mexico, Canada and beyond.

Story by Sarah Fuller, outreach coordinator for Stephen F. Austin State University’s Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture. Contact information: (936) 468-1185 or fullersa@sfasu.edu.