Everything Nac

The Stephen F. Austin State University School of Music will present the comic operetta “The Pirates of Penzance” by W.S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan at 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, April 4 through 6, in W.M. Turner Auditorium on the SFA campus. The most popular and beloved of all Gilbert and Sullivan operettas, “The Pirates of Penzance” promises fun for the entire family. Tickets are $15 for adults, $10 for seniors and $7.50 for students and youth. For tickets or more information, visit www.finearts.sfasu.edu or call the SFA Fine Arts Box Office at (936) 468-6407.

Michelle White, senior curator at the Menil Collection in Houston, will serve as juror for the 25th Texas National, Stephen F. Austin State University’s acclaimed art competition and exhibition, which opens April 13 and runs through June 9 in The Cole Art Center @ The Old Opera House in downtown Nacogdoches.

Texas National features an assortment of art, including photography, painting, sculpture and mixed media, according to John Handley, director of SFA galleries. This year’s exhibition includes 50 pieces of art from across the nation. Among the pieces are works by four current or former students in the SFA School of Art, including works by Sarah Jentsch, Santiago Escobido, Mason Cullen and Sara Gray.

The School of Art’s annual juried competition and exhibition attracts entrants from across the United States, providing artists an opportunity to have their work juried by highly acclaimed curators and critics, such as White, Handley said.

“Each year for our Texas National Competition and Exhibition, we seek to engage a well-respected individual from the arts to act as the juror for this national exhibition,” Handley said. “Michelle White is a curator at one of the nation’s most respected institutions.”

White will give a gallery talk at 5 p.m. Saturday, April 13, at the art center, followed by the announcement of this year’s Texas National winners during the exhibitions’ opening reception, which begins at 6 p.m.

The exhibition and reception are sponsored in part by the SFA Friends of the Visual Arts, The Flower Shop, William Arscott and corporate sponsor R&K Distributors, Inc. Also assisting with the reception are SFA hospitality students led by Dr. Gina Causin.

As senior curator at the Menil Collection, White has organized the exhibitions “Mona Hatoum: Terra Infirma,” “Barnett Newman: the Late Work,” “Lessons from Below: Otabenga Jones and Associates,” “Imaginary Spaces,” “Leaps into the Void: Documents of Nouveau Realist Performance,” “Between Land and Sea: Artists of the Coenties Slip” and “Vija Celmins: Television and Disaster, 1964-1966.”

She was the co-curator of the first retrospective of the drawings of Richard Serra at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. She organized the retrospective drawing exhibition of works on paper by Lee Bontecou for the Menil and the Princeton University Art Museum and “Cy Twombly: Treatise on the Veil” at the Morgan Library & Museum. She has worked with Claes Oldenburg on a publication and exhibition of the “Strange Eggs,” organized commissions with Dario Robleto, Leslie Hewitt and Bradford Young, and she is currently working on a drawing exhibition with Roni Horn.

Formally regional editor of the quarterly journal Art Lies, White has contributed her writing to various art journals, including Art Papers, Flash Art, Modern Painters, Master Drawing and Gulf Coast Literary Journal, and she has written essays for exhibition catalogues published by the Fondation Beyeler, The Des Moines Art Center, The Print Center and the University of Texas Press.

She received her B.A. at the University of California, San Diego, and her M.A. in art history from Tufts University. She has held positions at the Fogg Museum at Harvard University and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston

The Cole Art Center is located at 329 E. Main St. For more information, call (936) 468-1131.

Dr. Abby Yeakle Held, adjunct professor of oboe at Stephen F. Austin State University, will present the recital program “Celebrating the Music of American Composers” at 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 12, in Cole Concert Hall on the SFA campus.

With a goal of presenting a program of only American repertoire, Held selected a “made-in-the-USA” theme featuring the music of William Grant Still, Samuel Barber, George Gershwin, Gian Carlo Menotti, Douglas Moore and Alyssa Morris. Performing with Held will be SFA collaborative pianist Hyun Ji Oh.

“This recital is a diverse melting pot, like our country, and celebrates music written by Americans,” Held said. “There is oboe-piano repertoire, as well as transcriptions of opera arias. The selection of composers is also more diverse than the average program, as it includes both a female composer and an African American composer.”

The program includes Still’s “Incantation and Dance,” Barber’s “Canzonetta,” Gershwin’s “Summertime” from “Porgy and Bess,” Menotti’s “Steal me Sweet Thief” from “The Old Maid and the Thief” and Moore’s “Willow Song” from “The Ballad of Baby Doe.”

It also features Morris’ new music, “27-72,” which will have had its world premier five days prior to Held’s recital.

“I am a part of the consortium which commissioned Alyssa Morris’ ’27-72,'” Held said. “The piece was inspired by and dedicated to my undergraduate oboe professor at Baylor University, Dr. Doris DeLoach.”

The concert is a presentation of the SFA College of Fine Arts and School of Music.

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.

Stephen F. Austin State University will hold a dedication ceremony for the 1st Lt. Kile G. West Memorial Obstacle Course at 2:30 p.m. April 29 at the Student Recreation Center on the SFA campus. The public is invited to attend.

West, who graduated from SFA in 2005, attended the field artillery officer basic course and was assigned to the 1st Calvary Division at Fort Hood. West and four of his men were killed in action May 28, 2007, in Abu Sayda, Iraq, while en route to rescue the crew of a downed U.S. aircraft. West was the first officer commissioned at SFA to be killed in action. He was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star with Valor and the Purple Heart.

“West absolutely embodied the Lumberjack Battalion’s motto, ‘Be the Best,’” said Maj. James Attaway, SFA chair and professor of military science. “We wanted to do something to honor his sacrifice to our nation and thought it would be appropriate to name the obstacle course after him because it will be regularly used by our cadets.”

Completed in April 2018, the obstacle course was designed by Sgt. 1st Class Jose Rendon, SFA instructor of military science, to help cadets develop the strength, stamina and confidence they need to apply to Air Assault School.

Attaway said the obstacle course requires cadets to literally take a leap of faith to make it over obstacles they may face in life.

“The obstacle course helps cadets conquer their fears by putting them into challenging physical and mental situations. These experiences will help prepare them for challenges they will face as a United States Army officer,” Attaway said.

To learn more about the SFA Army ROTC program, visit sfasu.edu/rotc.

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

Dr. Deb Scott, professor of trombone at Stephen F. Austin State University, will present a recital at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 11, in Cole Concert Hall on the SFA campus.

Among the varied works to be featured is “Pearls II” by Roland Szentpáli, a Hungarian composer and world-renowned tuba player. This second piece in his series of three “Pearls” was originally composed for either trombone or euphonium, but is usually played by a euphonium player, according to Scott.

“It is a highly technical piece of three movements, each one composed in a different jazz style: swing, ballad and Latin,” she said.

Dr. Ron Petti, director of accompanying at SFA, will perform with Scott and will be featured on “Rhapsody” by Michael Schneider, who is a collaborative pianist and composer in the Dallas area.

“The unique part of this composition is that the trombone will be used as the accompanying voice rather than the primary,” Scott said.

Also included on the recital is one of Arthur Pryor’s compositions, “Annie Laurie.” Pryor was a virtuoso trombone soloist with John Philip Sousa’s band from 1892 to 1902.

“Once after performing for a German audience, he was ordered to take his trombone apart, for they refused to believe that anyone could play the trombone so well, claiming his performance was a ‘Yankee trick,'” Scott said.

A fun part of the recital will involve audience participation. For an undisclosed piece of music, the audience will be asked to guess the different insects represented by Scott’s performance. Winners will receive a small prize.

The concert is a presentation of the College of Fine Arts, School of Music and the Friends of Music Concert Series. 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.

Stephen F. Austin State University’s College of Sciences and Mathematics will host the fifth annual Women in STEM Luncheon and Style Show at noon Tuesday, April 9, in the Baker Pattillo Student Center Grand Ballroom.

Doors open at 11 a.m. for a gallery walk poster presentation highlighting STEM research accomplishments by SFA students and faculty.

The luncheon and style show is a scholarship fundraising event benefiting students committed to the advancement of women pursuing STEM degrees at SFA.

“Women’s experiences — along with men’s — should inform and guide the direction of STEM innovation,” said Dr. Kimberly M. Childs, dean of the College of Sciences and Mathematics. “We simply cannot afford to ignore or miss the perspectives of half the population in future engineering and technical design.”

Former student Megan Jenkins Turner will speak during the luncheon. A recipient of the Women in STEM Scholarship in 2015, the first year funds were awarded, she is now a student at the Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine. Turner will discuss her experiences as a woman in STEM, how women in these fields have had an impact on her journey in medicine, and what can be done to assist future generations of women pursuing STEM careers.

“There is strength in collaboration, community and mentorship,” Turner said. “As a woman in STEM, these are just a few of the areas I have been able to excel in due to the many women who led by example in STEM professions before me.”

A style show will follow the luncheon with selected men escorting female role models to highlight the importance of having men support women in STEM disciplines. Fashions are provided by The Town House and Miller’s Point.

The event is presented by Lockheed Martin.

The deadline for reservations is Monday, April 8. Tickets are $40 each or $300 for a table of eight. For more information or to make a reservation, call (936) 486-2805, or email kdcarmona@sfasu.edu.

By Joanna Armstrong, marketing communications specialist at Stephen F. Austin State University.

The SRT Contemporary Ensemble at Stephen F. Austin State University will present a rhythm and blues concert at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 10, in Cole Concert Hall on the SFA campus.

Among the selections to be performed are “Celebrate” by Anderson.Paak, “Funky Drummer” by James Brown, “Killing Me Softly” by The Fugees, and “Hallelujah! I Love Her So” by Ray Charles.

The Contemporary Ensemble is one of the two commercial music ensembles within SFA’s Sound Recording Technology program; the other being the Rockin’ Axes, according to SRT faculty member Nicholas Lambson.

“All of our students study music technology and are also musicians,” Lambson said. “We perform popular music that many of the students are becoming fluent with, and the genres we perform each semester will change.

“This year, we are focusing on R&B music with its many sub-genres,” he said. “Besides being an amazing art form, it was a good fit for our students’ interests and the instruments they play, such as brass and woodwinds, in addition to drums, bass, keys and guitar.”

The program also features songs that were in famous court cases, including “Blurred Lines,” which was found to violate the copyright of Marvin Gaye’s “Got to Give it Up.”

Studying the legalities of the music business is also part of the SRT program.

“It’s good experience for our students to learn about the issues tied to the music they are playing,” Lambson said.

Other popular tunes on the program are “Oh Honey” by Delegation, “Son of a Preacher Man” by Dusty Springfield, “Valerie” by Mark Ronson and Amy Winehouse, “Sittin’ on the Dock of the Bay” by Otis Redding, “Just the Two of Us” by Grover Washington, “Got to Give it Up” by Marvin Gaye, “Blurred Lines” by Robin Thicke, “Funky Drummer” by James Brown and “What You Won’t Do for Love” by Bobby Caldwell.

“SRT student Conner Darnell has composed an excellent new piece this semester in conjunction with SFA faculty,” Lambson said. “We will be performing its world premiere at our concert.”

SFA student Travis Wattingney was hired last semester to do transcription work for the ensemble. “He did such a fantastic job, we hired him again,” Lambson said. “He helped with ‘Valerie’ by Ronson and Winehouse and ‘Celebrate’ by Anderson.Paak.”

The concert is a presentation of the College of Fine Arts and School of Music. 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.