Everything Nac

The Stephen F. Austin State University School of Music will present a faculty recital featuring Scott LaGraff, baritone, and Hyun Ji Oh, pianist, at 7:30 p.m. Friday, March 23, in Cole Concert Hall on the SFA campus.

LaGraff will perform works by some of his favorite composers along with selections from his latest CD, “Incline Thine Ear and Other Sacred Songs.” Kimberly LaGraff, mezzo soprano, will join her husband for selected duets.

Works to be performed are by G.F. Handel, Hugo Wolf, Maurice Ravel, W.A. Mozart, Oley Speaks, Albert Hay Malotte, Ernest Charles and others.

Ravel’s “Don Quichotte à Dulcinée” has been a baritone standard since its composition in the early 1930s, but one that LaGraff has not performed in about 15 years.

“Each piece explores a different aspect of Don Quixote’s deep love for Dulcinea,” LaGraff explained. “The cycle begins with a sensuous love song, moves to a heroic song of dedication, and ends with a frivolous and comical drinking song.”

The program includes sacred selections composed by Speaks that are included on LaGraff’s most recent CD.

“The songs are musically interesting and technically challenging settings of well-known passages of scripture,” he said. “Speaks was born in Canal Winchester, Ohio, very close to where I grew up, which makes these pieces even more personal for me.”

Malotte’s “The Lord’s Prayer,” which will be performed as a duet with Kimberly LaGraff, has been recorded by artists as diverse as Leontyne Price and the Beach Boys, LaGraff said.

“Most importantly to us, however, is the fact that we sang it at our own wedding and have performed it countless times since then at weddings, in church services, and even in a cow pen at a cattle auction!” he said. “The duet version is not heard nearly as often as the solo version. It is also on my CD.”

The concert is a joint presentation of the College of Fine Arts and School of Music. Cole Concert Hall is located in the 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 School of Theatre will present the one-act play “Haiku” at 7:30 p.m. Friday, March 23, and at 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 24, in the Downstage Theatre on the SFA campus.

Written by Katherine Snodgrass, “Haiku” will be directed by Houston senior theatre major Tevia Loeser. The play is about a mother’s love, one sister’s struggle with doing what is right and another sister who may be gifted a artist with an impaired mind. “Haiku” won the Heideman Award at Actors Theatre of Louisville.

“Nell takes care of her cognitively challenged daughter, Louise, who, in miraculous intervals, retains super-normalcy and speaks in Haikus, which Nell publishes,” Loeser explains. “When Billie (the other daughter) comes home wanting to start a contingency plan, Nell has to convince her of Louise’s progress.”

The cast includes Rusk senior Bre’Ann Higgins as Nell; Red Oak freshman Beau McAfee as Louise; and Arlington junior Kayla Mroch as Billie.

The production staff includes Rebekah Webb, DeSoto senior, as stage manager; Richard Rogers, Kerrville sophomore, scenic designer; Jordyn Averitte, Baytown sophomore, costume designer; Dustin Barnes, Needville sophomore, lighting designer; Jessica Tinker-Akers, Marshall graduate student, sound designer; Drake Combs, Austin junior, makeup designer; and Tyler Canada, Los Angeles, California, senior, properties master.

“Haiku” is Loeser’s first play to direct at SFA. She has held a variety of roles in plays since her freshman year, including props designer for “Springtime” to playing Nancy in “Ivy + Bean The Musical” during the 2017 SummerStage Festival. She will graduate in May with a Bachelor of Arts degree in theatre and a minor in mass communication.

Faculty production advisor for “Haiku” is Cleo House Jr.

Tickets are $4. For tickets or more information, call the SFA Fine Arts Box Office at (936) 468-6407 or visit theatre.sfasu.edu.