Everything Nac

The annual “Coleidoscope” chamber music concert at Stephen F. Austin State University will be at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, March 25, in Cole Concert Hall on the SFA campus.

The event is presented each year in honor of SFA School of Music benefactor Ed Cole and his late wife, Gwen. Cole Concert Hall is named in their honor in recognition of their support for the School of Music and its students.

“This concert is dedicated to them and their support of the arts in Nacogdoches,” said Dr. Jennifer Dalmas, professor of violin and viola at SFA.

This year’s “Coleidoscope” program is “Works for Clarinet, Piano and Strings” and features performances by guest artist Kae Hosoda-Ayer. Selections to be performed are by Canadian composer Stephen Chatman, Bohuslav Martinu and Lowell Liebermann.

“Each year for ‘Coleidoscope,’ we enjoy collaborating with our colleagues featuring various instruments,” Dalmas said. “In recent years, this has included diverse instruments such as the harp, oboe and saxophone. This year will actually feature both the clarinet and the piano, with our own clarinet professor, Chris Ayer, and his wife, Kae Hosoda-Ayer, performing with us, as well.”

Dalmas describes Chatman’s Trio for Clarinet, Violin and Piano as “an engaging and entertaining work, composed in three movements.”

“The outer movements are energetic and technically challenging, while the slow middle movement explores some lovely blues timbres and harmonies,” she said.

Martinu’s Serenade No. 2 also features an unusual instrumentation; it is composed for two clarinets and string trio.

“This work, which has four movements, has wonderful interplay between the textures of winds and strings,” Dalmas said. “It contains beautiful lyrical writing in the slow movement.”

The Chelsea Chamber Ensemble premiered Liebermann’s work in 1988. Scored for clarinet, string trio and piano, the piece explores interesting textures between the various instruments and shows effective emotional contrasts within each movement, Dalmas explained.

Another music faculty member, Melissa Nabb, instructor of music theory, viola and violin, will perform (viola) in two of the three pieces, and SFA graduate student and clarinetist Gary Jones will join the ensemble on one piece (the Martinu), as well.

The recital is part of the School of Music’s Calliope 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.

With standing mixers at the ready, teams of Stephen F. Austin State University students eagerly await the signal to kick off their competition. Three, two, one, and the students are off mixing ingredients to be the first to make whipped cream.

Recently, representatives from Dairy MAX, a nonprofit dairy council representing dairy farm families across Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Southwest Kansas, spoke to students enrolled in principles of food science courses in SFA’s School of Human Sciences.

Sarah Ryan, Dairy MAX program coordinator, registered dietitian, SFA alumna and former SFA student regent, discussed how the company works with dairy farmers and the nutritional value of milk and other dairy products.

Ryan and her colleagues Katie McKee and Monica Silva informed students on the science behind milk’s role in the diet and in recipe applications. Students sampled two-percent, almond and pea milk while discussing the nutrition cow’s milk provides.

Dairy MAX representatives also shook things up — literally — by having students shake heavy cream in jars to create butter. Students viewed and discussed different yogurts and why cow’s milk is ideal for making creamy yogurt. Ryan also gave a frothing demonstration and explained the science behind why cow’s milk is better than others.

“The presentation was very informational and helped me learn more about the dairy industry and how to make things like butter and whipped cream,” said Raquel Martinez, SFA junior from Tyler.

The class ended with a taste of their homemade whipped creams over ice cream sundaes.

Jill Pruett, adjunct instructor at SFA, helped organize the demonstration and visit.

“The beautiful part of this presentation is Sarah is an SFA alumna, so it shows students what types of opportunities are available once they graduate,” Pruett said. “I love when we are able to bring new energy to a topic and reinforce key concepts that we cover in class.”

Likewise, Ryan and her team said they enjoyed sharing their knowledge with students and introducing them to new aspects of food science and nutrition.

“I have a special place in my heart for SFA,” Ryan said. “This class got me excited about food science, and I was thrilled to come back and share more about food science and how dairy fits into nutrition.”

For more information about SFA’s School of Human Sciences, visit sfasu.edu/hms.

To learn more about Dairy MAX and to find #DairyAmazing recipes, visit DairyDiscoveryZone.com.

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