Everything Nac

Registration is underway for private lessons and group classes offered for the 2018 spring semester by the Music Preparatory Division of the School of Music at Stephen F. Austin State University.

Besides the usual 16-week private lessons in piano, harp, violin, voice, bass, classical guitar, saxophone and cello, Music Prep is introducing early childhood music classes in the coming spring, according to Pat Barnett, director of the Music Preparatory Division.

“This is an exciting new offering for the children in the community to experience music and learning,” Barnett said, “and we highly recommend the program.”

Dr. Kristin Lyman, coordinator of music education in the SFA School of Music, will lead the classes beginning Tuesday, Jan. 30, at the Music Prep House at 3028 Raguet St. Bounces, wiggle, tickles, clapping, tapping, songs, beat and movement will be explored by newborns to 18 months; 18 months to 3 years; and 3 to 5 years of age, along with their parents.

Another new Music Prep offering is unique 45-minute private piano lessons for two children at a time, taught by Theresa Moon.

“The piano students will meet with Mrs. Moon at the same time and learn to play piano and discover the mysteries of the instrument,” Barnett said.

Music Prep offers 12 weeks of musical study with SFA music major students. Lessons in violin, cello, classical guitar, trumpet, voice, French horn, fiddle and other instruments upon request are offered. The student instructors are referred by their major professors and have a high level of mastery of their instrument, Barnett explained.

Group classes offered are Music Theory Adventures, taught by Laura Treadaway; Adult Piano Class, taught by Dr. Ping-Ting Lan; Pineywoods Youth Orchestra, directed by Dr. Evgeni Raychev; Pineywoods Fiddlers, directed by Brenna Campbell; and The Raguet Strings, directed by Brenda Josephsen. The Pineywoods Fiddlers, begun by SFA music major Emily Williams, will be continued by Campbell.

Registration forms for the 2018 spring semester are available on the Music Prep website at www.music.sfasu.edu/prep and are being accepted now. The forms may be downloaded and turned in to the Music Prep office. Sixteen-week private lessons begin the week of Jan. 8, and 12-week private lessons begin the week of Jan. 29. Contact the Music Prep office at (936) 468-1291 for more information.

Shirley Watterson and Dr. Robert Blocker, a former chairman of the SFA Department of Music, founded the SFA Music Preparatory Division in 1980.

Stephen F. Austin State University’s Economics Reading Group, led by Dr. Ryan Phelps, associate professor in the Rusche College of Business, recently hosted a video contest about J.D. Vance’s book “Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis.”

The contest was open to all SFA students and tasked them with submitting videos summarizing the book. Members of the Rusche College of Business Student Advisory Council served as the judges and named junior marketing major Kayla Lyons of Houston as the winner. The videos were judged based on professionalism, content and entertainment value. Lyons received $1,000, donated by the Student Success Center, as the grand prize.

According to the judges, Lyons “had the most engaging and thoughtful replies to the book while also staying on track discussing the chapters. She made the videos interesting even for someone who had not read the book.”

“I am studying abroad next semester, so the fact that I won the prize means a lot because it will help financially,” Lyons said. “It also was a great feeling to analyze something and receive great feedback.”

The book addresses how Vance managed to break free from a broken culture and graduate from Yale Law School. Phelps explained the book also details the challenges of growing up in a troubled home, the economics of migration and factory towns, and the importance of seeing one’s potential to improve one’s outcomes through hard work and perseverance.

The contest was designed to open the Economics Reading Group to a wider audience, Phelps said. Additionally, the book was on the summer reading list for Generation Jacks, a first-generation student retention program at SFA, which meant more than 100 students and faculty members were invited to read the book.

“The contest encouraged students to post their opinions online regarding the book. Their opinions are now available to those interested,” Phelps said. “To date, the video submissions have garnered 541 views. I am grateful to the Student Success Center for donating the prize funds and to the students who posted their thoughts.”

To view the video submissions, visit https://www.facebook.com/SFA-Economics-Reading-Group-185064084897609/?ref=bookmarks.

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

Still looking for a unique Christmas gift for that someone who has everything? Tickets are available for the University Series performance of Chanticleer, the Grammy Award-winning a cappella choir, at Stephen F. Austin State University.

The SFA College of Fine Arts will present Chanticleer at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 19, in W.M. Turner Auditorium on the SFA campus.

Known around the globe as “an orchestra of voices,” the a cappella choir is famous for the seamless blend of its 12 male voices, ranging from soprano to bass, and its original interpretations of songs, from Renaissance to jazz and from gospel to pop, according to Scott Shattuck, associate dean of the College of Fine Arts and director of the University Series.

“I’ve waited for decades to get to hear Chanticleer in a live performance,” Shattuck said. “It’s a special thrill for me to have played a part in bringing them back to Nacogdoches.

Called “the world’s reigning male chorus” by the New Yorker, the San Francisco-based Chanticleer will celebrate its 40th anniversary in 2018. During its 2017-18 season. Chanticleer will perform 52 concerts in 23 of the United States, 27 in the San Francisco Bay Area, and eight in Poland, Germany, France and Spain.

Since Chanticleer began releasing recordings in 1981, the group has sold well over a million albums and won two Grammy awards.

The performance is sponsored in part by BancorpSouth.

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.

For more information, 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 SFA campus and the Fine Arts Box Office will be closed Dec. 21 through Jan. 1 for the Christmas holiday break.

Stephen F. Austin State University honored prominent donors and other individuals whose work has positively impacted the university during the 29th annual SFA Gala held recently in the Baker Pattillo Student Center Grand Ballroom.

Donors honored this year include Susan and Sam Calomino, Madeline and Alfred Danheim, and ExxonMobil.

“This year’s Gala honorees have significantly impacted the lives of students and the campus community through their generous contributions,” said Jill Still, SFA vice president for university advancement. “We are pleased to recognize their generosity as well as faculty members whose dedication to teaching and research establishes an accomplished university community.”

Greg Williams of Nacogdoches also was recognized at the event, along with SFA faculty members Lauren Selden and Candace Hicks.

Susan and Sam Calomino

The Calominos were inducted into SFA’s Fredonia Society.

Susan is the daughter of Sara “Jane” and Roy Metcalf. Susan and her husband, Sam, have made donations to liberal and applied arts areas, but their most enduring gift was the creation of the Jane Metcalf Memorial Scholarship, which supports students from Panola County pursuing a degree at SFA.

Born in 1922, Jane Metcalf and her husband, Roy, grew up during the Great Depression in Beckville and married during World War II. As the fourth of six daughters born to farmers, Jane understood college was not an option because of costs. Instead, she joined the Women’s Army Corps in 1943, trained at Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia, and was stationed at Grenier Air Force Base in New Hampshire.

Roy was discharged in 1944 from the U.S. Army Air Corps, and the couple settled in Dallas before returning to Beckville. Afforded new educational opportunities through the financial support of the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944, also known as the G.I. Bill, Jane was one of the first students to enroll at Panola Junior College when it opened in 1947. She was the top student in the first class of 13 graduates in 1948. She continued her studies at East Texas Baptist College and eventually Stephen F. Austin State Teachers College. Jane received a Bachelor of Arts in 1956 and a Master of Arts in 1961 from SFA.

Three of Roy and Jane’s five children received both bachelor’s and master’s degrees from SFA.

The Calominos established the scholarship in Jane’s honor to afford students from her hometown educational opportunities. Preference is given to graduates of Beckville High School and any other high schools located within Panola County.

Alfred and Madeline Danheim

The Danheims were inducted into the Fredonia Society.

The late Alfred and Madeline Danheim donated many times during their lives to the College of Fine Arts before bequeathing a considerable monetary gift. They were most passionate about the School of Music where both received their Bachelor of Arts in 1960 from SFA. Alfred also received his Master of Arts from SFA in 1961.

Alfred was born in Victoria and raised in Alto where he graduated from high school in the early 1940s. After graduating from SFA, Alfred worked as a principal for a school in El Paso and then for Pasadena Independent School District for 30 years where he taught high school history and English. He later became executive director of secondary curriculum for Pasadena ISD.

Madeline was born in Nacogdoches and graduated from Nacogdoches High School in the mid-1940s. She taught first grade in El Paso and in Pasadena.

The Danheims were members of Asbury United Methodist Church prior to becoming members of the A. Frank Smith United Methodist Church in Alto, where Alfred taught the Downtown Bible Class for 28 years and Madeline served as pianist for 24 years.

ExxonMobil

Inducted into the Stephen F. Austin Society, ExxonMobil has made significant contributions to SFA through its matching gift programs. The foundation and the corporation engage in a range of philanthropic activities that advance education with a focus on math and science in the U.S., and promote women as catalysts for economic development. The foundation and corporation also work to combat malaria.

ExxonMobil’s educational matching gift program matches employee and retiree donations to U.S. higher education institutions at a ratio of 3-to-1. ExxonMobil and its employees contributed more than $50 million to institutions of higher education across the United States in 2016. Employees, retirees, directors and surviving spouses contributed $17.5 million, which was matched with $32.6 million in unrestricted grants from the ExxonMobil Foundation to more than 850 universities, colleges and organizations dedicated to higher education.

ExxonMobil contributions have supported departments across SFA’s six colleges. Most notably, the company’s financial assistance helped establish the Ina Brundrett Conservation Education Building, Jimmy Hinds Park, and the Tom F. and Deborah Nichols Pruitt Patent Education Professorship.

Speck Development Award

Greg Williams, vice president of BancorpSouth, received the Nancy C. Speck Development Award. Established in 2009, the award recognizes outstanding individuals such as dedicated volunteers, students, or faculty and staff members who have advanced the university’s mission through development methods.

Williams, a Nacogdoches native, is active in the community, serving as vice president of the Charles and Lois Marie Bright Foundation, board member for Habitat for Humanity of Nacogdoches, and board member of the Nacogdoches Memorial Hospital Foundation. He also is a member of the Rotary Club of Nacogdoches, First Baptist Church of Nacogdoches and treasurer of the Fern Lake Fishing Club.

Dr. Nancy Speck is a former SFA vice president for university advancement as well as a Rusche College of Business faculty member. Speck has remained committed to civic service, dedicating her expertise to numerous state and national boards and committees related to education, mental health and economic development.

Faculty honorees

Faculty member awards presented during the Gala recognize innovation and excellence in teaching and research. Lauren Selden, associate professor of art, is the recipient of the 2017 Faculty Achievement Award for Teaching. Candace Hicks, assistant professor in SFA’s School of Art, is the recipient of the 2017 Faculty Achievement Award for Research.

For more information about SFA development programs, call (936) 468-5406, or visit givetosfa.sfasu.edu.