Everything Nac

The Orchestra of the Pines at Stephen F. Austin State University will present “Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Symphony!” in a concert at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 12, in W.M. Turner Auditorium on the SFA campus.

Dr. Pierre-Alain Chevalier, the orchestra’s music director, has selected a program that not only showcases the work of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky but also pieces by Johannes Brahms and Lars Erik Larsson.

The program highlights are Brahms: “Academic Festival Overture,” op. 80 (composed 1880) with Gary Jones, graduate conductor; Larsson: Concerto for saxophone and string orchestra, op. 14 (1934) with Jack Thorpe, saxophone; and Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4 in F minor, op. 36 (1877–78).

The director of bands at St. Cyprian’s Episcopal School in Lufkin, Jones is currently earning a master’s degree in wind conducting and an artist diploma in clarinet performance at SFA. He earned a Bachelor of Music Education with a focus on multi-woodwind pedagogy and a minor in piano from SFA. Jones is active as a conductor and recitalist. He has performed throughout the United States, notably in New York and Oregon. He is the principal clarinetist of the SFA Wind Ensemble and Orchestra of the Pines. He has also presented master classes and has been an adjudicator throughout Texas and Louisiana. Jones also maintains a private teaching studio compromised of all woodwind students. This year, he founded the Nacogdoches Winds, which promotes music education in schools. He serves as the graduate teaching assistant for the Lumberjack Marching Band, conducts the University Band and serves as the director of music at Johnson Chapel CME Church in Nacogdoches.

Thorpe holds a Bachelor of Music degree in saxophone performance from Georgia State University (summa cum laude) where he was the recipient of the Presser Undergraduate Scholar Award. As a soloist and chamber musician, Thorpe has performed throughout the United States and Japan and has been featured as a concerto soloist with the Georgia State University Symphonic Wind Ensemble. In 2018, Thorpe was named one of the winners of the SFA Concerto Competition, and he has recently competed as a semi-finalist in the 2018 North American Saxophone Alliance Collegiate Soloist and Quartet competitions. As the alto chair in the Akira Saxophone Quartet, Thorpe has recorded music by composers Stephen Wood and Matthew Quayle. He is the teaching assistant for saxophones at SFA where he is currently pursuing his Master of Music degree in saxophone performance. Thorpe’s main teachers include Jan Berry Baker and Nathan Nabb with additional study under Frederick L. Hemke.

The 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 Wind Ensemble at Stephen F. Austin State University will present the program “Legacies” in a concert at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 13, in W.M. Turner Auditorium on the SFA campus.

According to Dr. David Campo, director of bands at SFA and the Wind Ensemble, the Merriam-Webster dictionary defines legacy as “something transmitted by or received from an ancestor, predecessor or from the past.”

“Spirituals are among the musical legacies we have inherited in America,” Campo said, “and to celebrate this connection, the Wind Ensemble trumpet section will perform Terry Everson’s arrangement of the spiritual ‘There’s a Great Day Coming.'”

The Wind Ensemble will also perform John Barnes Chance’s “Blue Lake Overture.”

“Chance was a native Texan whose legacy was cut short by his untimely death in 1972, but he left the band world richer because of his compositions,” Campo said. “Blue Lake Overture” was the first commission by Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp in 1970, and the Western Michigan University Wind Ensemble premiered the work in early 1971.

American composer Anthony Iannaccone’s work “After a Gentle Rain” is also on the program. In the opening woodwind statements, the audience will hear the influence of Iannaccone’s teacher, Aaron Copland, Campo said.

“Iannaccone’s legacy includes a Ravel Prize, C.F. Peters Prize and an Ostwald Award for ‘Sea Drift,'” Campo added.

The Wind Ensemble will perform Robert Russell Bennett’s “Suite of Old American Dances,” which offers a nostalgic look at the dances that were popular at the turn of the century and in which Bennett reminisces about Electric Park, an amusement park touted in the early 1900s as “Kansas City’s Coney Island.” Bennett stated, “Electric Park was a place of magic to us kids because of the tricks with big electric signs, the illuminated fountains, the big band concerts, the scenic railway and the big dance hall. One could hear in the dance hall all afternoon and evening the pieces the crowd danced to.”

Closing the concert will be Samuel Barber’s “Commando March,” which was written in 1943 and was his first work for wind band and his first work subsequent to entering the U.S. Army.

“There is no extant documentation regarding a formal commission or a direct military order,” Campo said, “rather it appears Barber was inspired to compose for the military bands he must have come in contact with during his basic training.”

The concert is a joint presentation of the College of Fine Arts and School of Music. Cole Concert Hall is located in the Tom and Peggy Wright Music Building, 2210 Alumni Drive.

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 Percussion Ensemble at Stephen F. Austin State University will perform the music of Andrew Beall, Nick Werth, Amadeo Roldán and other favorites in a concert at 1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 10, in Cole Concert Hall on the SFA campus.

Directed by Dr. Brad Meyer, director of percussion studies at SFA, the Percussion Ensemble will also perform works by Eric Sammut, Austen White, Eckhard Kopetzki and Bill Alves.

According to the program notes, Beall’s “Rancho Jubilee” came from the name of a Dominican restaurant near the composer’s home in Washington Heights.

“Its fun décor and lively atmosphere mixed with Latin and Caribbean influences provide a nice setting for this – what is most likely the first of its kind – trio for cajons,” Beall writes. “Cajon is a Spanish word meaning ‘box.’ The instrument originated in Peru and later became popular in Spanish Flamenco music. Because of the wire strings extending across the cajon, it has a fantastic sound, much like a drumset, with snare and bass.”

In hip-hop culture, “Boom Bap” refers to a onomatopoeia for the prominent percussive sounds in the style-kick (“boom”) and snare (“bap”). From the golden era of the ’80s and ’90s to modern trap music, this groove-based drum sextet pays homage to the evolution of hip-hop, according to “Boom Bap” composer Werth.

Roldán’s “Ritmica No. 5” is based on the Cuban son (pronounced “sewn”) with a montuno section. This is evident in the overall form, instrumentation and rhythmic complexity of the work. The Cuban son originated as a rural song and dance style, and it was performed in a duple meter at a moderate to rapid tempo. The tempo marking for “Ritmica No. 5” is in the tempo of a son, and all the instruments except for the timpani are traditional Cuban instruments, Meyer explained.

Other works on the program include Kopetzki’s “Canned Heat,” Sammut’s “Four Rotations Pour Marimba” and Alves’ “Gandrung.”

The concert is a joint presentation of the College of Fine Arts and School of Music. Cole Concert Hall is located in the Tom and Peggy Wright Music Building, 2210 Alumni Drive.

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 Stone Fort Wind Quintet at Stephen F. Austin State University will present a faculty recital at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 6, in Cole Concert Hall on the SFA campus as part of the Friends of Music Concert Series.

The program includes works by Josef Foerster, Valerie Coleman, David Solomons, Matthew Bruemmer and Astor Piazzolla.

The quintet includes SFA School of Music faculty members Charles Gavin, horn; Christopher Ayer, clarinet; Abby Yeakle Held, oboe; Christina Guenther, flute; and Lee Goodhew, bassoon. Brad Meyer will join his music colleagues as guest narrator and percussionist.

The Quintet, op. 95 by Foerster is a Romantic work in four-movements, according to Guenther.

“Thickly orchestrated, it is a large-scale work using the wind quintet in a very symphonic setting,” she said.

Solomons’ “Thalia’s Rag” is a wind quintet with added limericks for speaker. The limericks are interspersed throughout the piece, each coupled with one of the instruments. Meyer will provide narration.

Coleman’s “Red Clay and Mississippi Delta” is a rhythm-and-blues-inspired work, largely featuring the clarinet. She describes it as “a light scherzo work for wind quintet that references my family’s background of living in Mississippi.”

“The solo lines are instilled with personality, meant to capture the listener’s attention as they wail with ‘bluesy’ riffs that are accompanied (‘comped’) by the rest of the ensemble,” she writes. “The result is a virtuosic chamber work that merges classical technique and orchestration with the blues dialect and charm of the South.”

Bruemmer describes his work “The Violent Rain’s Mambo” as a “fast-moving, dance-like piece that is sure to catch the attention of every audience member.” Focusing on the nuances of each instrument, the piece creates effects and sounds of a storm.

Written while Piazzolla was living in Rome, “Libertango” is one of his most well-known pieces. He described it as “sort of a song of liberty.” A hard-driving piece in his unique nuevo tango style, it has been transcribed for many different instrumental and vocal combinations and was on his first Italian album, also titled “Libertango.” Meyer performs on this piece.

The quintet will perform selections from this program on the group’s Houston-area tour Nov. 7 through 9.

The concert is a joint presentation of the College of Fine Arts and School of Music. Cole Concert Hall is located in the Tom and Peggy Wright Music Building, 2210 Alumni Drive.

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 Office of Multicultural Affairs will host its second Brave Space Series of the fall semester at 4 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 15, in the Baker Pattillo Student Center Multimedia Room. The series will feature a discussion on the identity of mixed-race and multiracial individuals.

“This Brave Space Series will discuss topics regarding mixed-race and multiracial identity,” Veronica Beavers, director of OMA, said. “This discussion will allow participants to gain insight about the thoughts and struggles a mixed or multiracial person might go through.”

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

“Our goal is to have SFA students, faculty and staff come together to discuss intercultural and interfaith issues and concerns that affect our global, local and campus communities,” Beavers said.

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

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

Situated by the South America music table, Stephen F. Austin State University student Emma Blinn watches as children explore diverse cultures through playing with different musical instruments.

“It was so amazing to see the kids figure out how each instrument worked. This truly gave me a first encounter on how children absorb the world around them,” Blinn said. “There is something really special about seeing their curiosity come alive, even if it is just over a little xylophone.”

Blinn, along with several other SFA students enrolled in human development and family studies courses, and members of the Jacks Council on Family Relations, recently volunteered to participate in the Family Fun Night event at the Greater East Texas Community Action Program Head Start.

“Family Fun Night was really special because I got the chance to experience the family dynamics, sibling interactions and the overall atmosphere of Head Start,” Blinn said. “This heavily relates to my nursing field of study because it has shown me what type of approach I should take when it comes to speaking with this age group and helping them understand.”

During the event, all seven continents were represented to give students the opportunity to explore different cultures. Each station had interactive and educational activities for participants.

Dr. Flora Farago, assistant professor in SFA’s human development and family studies program, explained how this collaborative event provides SFA students with the opportunity to engage with and learn from community members and leaders from diverse cultural backgrounds. Farago said it also provides students with a way to support local agencies serving children and families.

“These experiences are mutually beneficial to our students, community members and agencies serving the Nacogdoches community,” Farago said.

For more information about SFA’s human development and family studies program, visit sfasu.edu/hms/71.asp.

By Kasi Dickerson, senior marketing communications specialist at Stephen F. Austin State University.

The Stone Fort Museum, located of the campus of Stephen F. Austin State University, will host the second annual Deal Me In: Night at the Stone Fort Saloon from 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 10, with an evening of card games, bar room food, music and prizes.

Participants start the night with a pocket full of Republic of Texas replica bills. They can play a round or more of Texas Hold ’em, while eating sausage, drinking root beer and listening to live music.

The SFA Young Violinists will perform early in the evening, followed by local band El Camino Real de Nacogdoches.

The SFA Young Violinists, featuring SFA students under the instruction of Brenda Josephsen, have played at venues across East Texas, including the Nacogdoches Farmers’ Market, Lamp-Lite Theatre and the Pineywoods Herb Farm.

In addition to private lessons, the students meet weekly to learn to play together as an ensemble. With accompanist Kaden Harman, The SFA Young Violinists will set the mood with saloon-style music.

El Camino Real de Nacogdoches will play old-time acoustic music on the fiddle, guitars, mandolin, banjos and percussion in what the band describes as “East Texas’ answer to The Old Crow Medicine Show.”

The event also will include a shooting gallery using rubber band pistols, a game of horseshoe, cards for Go Fish at a kids-only table and a photo booth. Each game will reward the winner with tokens that can be exchanged for prizes at the end of the night. Door prizes also will be given away.

The event is free and open to the public. For more information, call (936) 468-2408 or email stonefort@sfasu.edu.

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