Everything Nac

The award-winning multi-Grammy nominated duo Dailey & Vincent will ring in the holiday season with “A Springer Mountain Farms Christmas” performed at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 11, in W.M. Turner Auditorium on the Stephen F. Austin State University campus.

The performance, sponsored in part by Commercial Bank of Texas, is a presentation of the College of Fine Arts and the University Series.

Dailey & Vincent are celebrating early this year as their first-ever Christmas record, “Dailey & Vincent: The Sounds of Christmas” debuted at No. 8 on the Billboard Holiday Albums chart, landing right behind Michael Bublé and Pentatonix as the only country, bluegrass and gospel act in the top 10. The critically acclaimed project, released through BMG, also landed at No. 1 on the Billboard Bluegrass Albums chart.

“What a thrill it is to have these national superstars and local favorites back for the first time since Christmas 2012, just as they’re releasing their very first holiday album,” said Scott Shattuck, associate dean of the College of Fine Arts and director of the University Series. “Dailey & Vincent have chosen SFA as one of only 15 locations in the country where they’re touring in support of this exciting new recording.”

Jamie Dailey and Darrin Vincent and their world-class band take their blend of American music across the globe and to iconic venues such as The Ryman Auditorium and Carnegie Hall. They are Grand Ole Opry members, five-time Grammy award winners individually, three-time Grammy award nominees collectively, four-time Dove Award winners, and winners of 35 IBMA awards altogether (including three IBMA Entertainer of the Year Awards and three Vocal Group of the Year Awards).

Their music, mixing bluegrass with traditional country and gospel, can be heard on their nationally broadcast television series, “The Dailey & Vincent Show” on RFD-TV. Their concoction of instinctive vocal blends, with Dailey’s tenor complemented by Vincent’s reedy harmonies, has gained them well-deserved praise for their own distinctive style and worldwide recognition as American Music gold.

“The Sounds of Christmas” experience is more than just an album release as momentum continues throughout the holiday season with a nationally broadcast television Christmas concert special, four all-new Christmas episodes of “The Dailey & Vincent Show” on RFD-TV and the 15-city “Springer Mountain Farms Christmas” tour.

“Jamie and Darrin are so popular in East Texas that we’ve already sold out our orchestra-level seating,” said Shattuck, “but personally I prefer our balcony level anyway, and fortunately we’ve got quite a few excellent seats still available up there.”

Prior to the performance, local bluegrass fan Scott Waller will present an informative talk at 7 p.m. in Griffith Gallery. The gallery is located across the hall from Turner Auditorium, which is inside the Griffith Fine Arts Building, 2222 Alumni Drive. The audience is invited back to the gallery for a post-performance reception to meet the performers and to honor the corporate sponsor.

Single event ticket prices for the University Series are $25 for adults, $20 for seniors and $10 for non-SFA students/youth. Tickets for SFA students are $3.

On the night of the concert, the College of Fine Arts will assist the Nacogdoches County Christmas Coalition’s toy drive by collecting new, unwrapped toys to help local children in need have a brighter holiday season. A collection box will be located in the Turner Auditorium lobby.

For more information or to purchase tickets, visit finearts.sfasu.edu, stop by the Fine Arts Box Office in Room 211 of the Griffith Fine Arts Building, or call (936) 468-6407 or (888) 240-ARTS.

The Stephen F. Austin State University School of Music will present a faculty saxophone and piano recital at 6 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 9, in Cole concert Hall on the SFA campus.

Nicholas Bissen, adjunct professor of saxophone, and Hyun Ji Oh, collaborative pianist, will present the program “La Vie Antérieure,” which is also the title of a work on the program and translates to “The Former Life.” The program oscillates between moments of reckless indulgence and nostalgic reference, but never with regret, according to Bissen.

The first two works on the program – Allemande from Partita No. 2 by Johann Sebastian Bach and “Renewing the Myth” by Marilyn Shrude – move from a simple, unaccompanied baroque melody into a contemporary realization of the baroque period myth where Niccolo Paganini sold his soul to the devil in exchange for technical prowess on his instrument, Bissen said.

The program will also feature a new work entitled “Tactile,” written by music composition faculty member Robert Coe for saxophone and electronics. “The pre-recorded electronic track involves edited sounds previously recorded by the saxophonist as well as percussion sounds from Professor Coe’s kitchen,” Bissen said. “The interaction between the soloist and the tape starts as a series of seemingly disorganized pitches with various saxophone effects and activated household appliances, developing into a stomping groove.”

Henri Duparc’s “La Vie Antérieure,” taken from Charles Baudelaire’s poem “Les Fleurs du mal (The Flowers of Evil),” portrays a man reminiscing fondly on his previous deviant nature. “If one were to experience this music without being aware of the text, one would leave hearing a beautiful romantic sonority, nostalgic melody and sweeping gestures,” Bissen explained. “The text adds another layer of complexity; as the music swells to a glorious peak, the poetry unveils the character’s abhorrent nature of his former life.”

The concert is a joint presentation of the College of Fine Arts and School of Music. Admission is free. For 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 SFA Gardens will host the monthly Theresa and Les Reeves Lecture Series at 7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 13, in the Brundrett Conservation Education Building at the Pineywoods Native Plant Center, located at 2900 Raguet St.

Mark Weathington, director of the JC Raulston Arboretum at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, will present, “Beyond Tire Planters: Gardening in the South.”

Weathington is passionate in his work to connect people with plants. His latest book, “Gardening in the South: The Complete Homeowner’s Guide,” takes his common sense approach — and a bit of humor — and makes gardening accessible for any level of gardener.

He travels extensively searching for new plants to diversify the American landscape and lectures on a variety of topics in horticulture to further the JC Raulston Arboretum’s vision of “Planning and Planting a Better World.” His explorations and speaking engagements have taken him to China, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Ecuador, Europe, Mexico, New Zealand and throughout the U.S.

Weathington has revised and updated the “Propagation Guide for Woody Plants at the JC Raulston Arboretum” and has been published in Fine Gardening, Horticulture, Carolina Gardener, American Nurseryman, VA Gardener and HortScience magazines, as well as The Mid-Altlantic Gardener’s Book of Lists.

He previously served as director of horticulture and facilities at the Norfolk Botanical Garden and as horticulturist for the Atlanta Botanical Garden. He currently lives and gardens in Raleigh, North Carolina, the city of oaks, with his wife and two boxers.

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.