Everything Nac

The Wind Ensemble at Stephen F. Austin State University will present “Homecoming Fiesta!” when the student group performs the music of Richard Strauss, Frank Ticheli, Paul Hart, Richard Wagner and Clifton Williams at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 5, in W.M. Turner Auditorium on the SFA campus.

Featured guest performers will be the SFA Faculty Brass Quintet, which includes Jake Walburn and Gary Wurtz, trumpets; Charles Gavin, horn; Deb Scott, trombone; and J.D. Salas, tuba.

Directed by Dr. David Campo, director of bands at SFA, the Wind Ensemble will perform “Wiener Philharmoniker Fanfare,” which Strauss wrote to celebrate the first annual Vienna Philharmonic Ball held in 1924. The ensemble will also perform Ticheli’s “Nitro,” which the composer described as “an energy-charged three-minute fanfare for band.” The Northshore Concert Band music director, Mallory Thompson, commissioned the piece in celebration of the band’s 50th anniversary season.

“Nitrogen is the most abundant component of the Earth’s atmosphere and is present in the tissues of every living thing,” Ticheli wrote. “It is the fifth most abundant element in the universe, created by the fusion deep within stars; it has recently been detected in interstellar space. The sheer prevalence of nitrogen in all of nature, and the infinite range of compounds it is part of – life-giving, energizing, healing, cleansing, explosive – all appealed to me, and served as the inspiration for my music.”

Wagner’s opera “Lohengrin” was first performed in 1850 and quickly became a benchmark in German opera. “Elsa’s Procession to the Cathedral” is adapted from Act II, Scene 4 of the opera and was set for wind band by arranger Lucien Cailliet.

Regarding his wind band composition “Cartoon,” Hart remarked, “It’s all here! The big opening credits, the cat and mouse tease and chase, the strutting swagger, and of course the big finale! Best of all, it can all happen in the imagination of the audience, not on the film screen.”

“A nod to the classic cartoon soundtracks of the 1950s and ’60s, this work is pure fun,” Campo said.

The concert closes with Williams’ “Symphonic Dance # 3, Fiesta,” originally one of his five Symphonic Dances commissioned by the San Antonio Symphony Orchestra to celebrate its 25th anniversary in 1964.

In the original suite, each of the five dances represented the spirit of a different time and place relative to the background of San Antonio. “Fiesta” is an evocation of the excitement and color of the city’s numerous Mexican celebrations, Campo explained. The modal characteristics, rhythms and finely woven melodies depict what Williams called “the pageantry of Latin-American celebration – street bands, bull fights, bright costumes, the colorful legacy of a proud people.”

Prior to the SFA concert, the Wind Ensemble will tour schools in the Dallas area and perform a free public concert at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 4, in the McKinney ISD Performing Arts Center.

The SFA concert is a joint 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.

The SFA Alumni Invitational Showcase runs from Jan. 30 through May 3 in Griffith Fine Art Gallery on the campus of Stephen F. Austin State University.

The exhibition features works by former SFA art students and includes paintings, drawings, sculpture, metal work, ceramics and mixed media.

SFA art alumni whose works are featured include Texas artists Daniel Baugh, Santiago Escobedo and Dan Grissom, all of Austin; Michael Blome and Holly Haynes of Houston; Kyley Cantwell of Florence; Valerie Hanks of Huntsville; Kyle Rogers of Spring; and John Storm of Waco. Other artists include Bill Brunken of Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania; Tanna Burchinal of Wichita, Kansas; Kira Enriquez of Terre Haute, Indiana; Corey Lamb of Evansville, Indiana; Isaac Powell of Richmond, Kentucky; and Kylie Price of Cullowhee, North Carolina.

The artists have been invited to discuss their work. An artists’ talk and reception is planned for 5:30 to 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 8, in Griffith Gallery, located in the Griffith Fine Arts Building, 2222 Alumni Drive. Admission is free.

Hours for Griffith Gallery are 12:30 to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday during fall and spring semesters and 6 to 7:30 p.m. before most performances in W.M. Turner Auditorium, which is directly across the hall from the gallery. The gallery can also be opened for groups by appointment by calling (936) 468-1131 or (936) 468-6557.

For information about other art exhibitions, call (936) 468-1131.

Stephen F. Austin State University’s SFA Gardens will host the monthly Theresa and Les Reeves Lecture Series at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 14 in the Brundrett Conservation Education Building at the Pineywoods Native Plant Center, located at 2900 Raguet St.

Linda Gay of Arbor Gate Nursery in Tomball will present “Climbers, Twisters and Viners: Using Vertical Space.”

Gay describes herself as a horticulturist and gardener by trade as well as a “student of the unknown.” She has been learning and gardening in Houston since 1979 and, after working 26 years at Mercer Arboretum and Botanic Gardens, feels inspired to keep growing, tend her garden and share her knowledge with like-minded individuals.

Gay has an associate degree in horticultural technology from Trident Technical College in Charleston, South Carolina. She is an instructor of Texas Master Gardener classes in several Texas counties and was director at Mercer the last 11 of her 26 years there before her current position in sales and consulting at Arbor Gate Nursery.

In her spare time, Gay creates YouTube videos with Beverly Welch, the owner of Arbor Gate, and has a horticulture blog on topics such as how to plant a tree, how to prune a tree, mounting a Staghorn fern, and fall pruning of perennial plants for extended bloom. She is a writer and photographer for House & Home magazine and has been a horticulturist and teacher at McGovern Centennial Gardens at Hermann Park in Houston, among other ventures.

The Theresa and Les Reeves Lecture Series is held the second Thursday of each month and includes a rare-plant raffle after the program. The lecture is free and open to the public, but donations to the Theresa and Les Reeves Lecture Series fund are always appreciated.

Parking is available at the PNPC and Raguet Elementary School, located at 2428 Raguet St.

For more information, call (936) 468-4129, or email sfagardens@sfasu.edu.

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. Tuesday, Feb. 12, in the Baker Pattillo Student Center’s Multimedia Room. The discussion will focus on the importance of self-love and how different cultures see it.

“I believe it is important for students to practice self-love because students often are struggling with their mental health,” Kristine Cross, OMA student ambassador, said. “Practicing self-love gives individuals time to reflect on and take care of themselves in all aspects of life.”

Each series has a specific area of focus. The Brave Space Series provides a forum for open and honest discussion concerning difficult topics. This meeting emphasizes individuals can love and cherish their uniqueness while appreciating their culture.

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

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