Everything Nac

Music composition students at Stephen F. Austin State University traditionally take bold steps, and it’s paying off in bold ways around the globe.

Kyle Henkel, who graduated from SFA in May with a Bachelor of Music, had his composition “Kandinsky Imaginations” premiered this past summer at the 5th Zodiac Music Academy & Festival in the south of France. Three days later, the same piece got its second performance at the Bruno Maderna Competition Composers Forum in Lviv, Ukraine, by members of the New York City-based Phoenix Ensemble.

The Zodiac Music Academy & Festival commissioned Henkel to write the work. While he was at the festival, Henkel worked closely with the performers during rehearsals to improve the piece, whose inspiration is based on three paintings by Wassily Kandinsky: Composition VI, White Line and Composition VIII.

“To compare my music to a painting by Kandinsky is intimidating already, but to do three works is frightening,” Henkel said in an email interview. “To write something and have it compared to Kandinsky’s work, I had to think outside of the box and use resources and techniques that may not be common in most works for this particular instrumentation – a trio with violin, cello and piano.”

Henkel explains that one movement is percussive and demands that three players use methods of drumming on the violin and cello; clapping, knocking, finger snapping and vocalizing sounds in all three instruments; and finger muting in the piano (almost making a sound similar to a violin and cello pizzicato, or plucking).

“Overall, ‘Kandinsky Imaginations’ is an emotional, groovy and heavy-metal performance all wrapped up in a fun package,” he said.

Henkel was not able to travel to the Ukraine to coach the performers, but because of that, it allowed the artists “freedom to interpret the whole piece,” he said.

“At the Zodiac Music Festival, I was able to work with the performers every other day during rehearsals, refining the piece to what I was looking for in the music,” he said.

Henkel’s composition professor at SFA, Dr. Stephen Lias, explains that emerging composers build resumes by having their works performed at various levels.

“The more impressive the performers and/or location, the more credibility it gives the composer,” Lias said, adding the majority of composers Kyle’s age are getting mostly student performances in academic settings. “Some might be lucky enough to have a professional ensemble play a piece, or to have a new work premiered at a regional or national conference. Kyle’s achievements are well above the norm, and reflect his dedication, talent and networking skills. To have an international performance by professional musicians would be impressive by itself, but this is not the first time it has happened.”

Premieres of this level reflect what Lias described as the “mantra” of the composition studio at SFA: “Take Bold Steps.”

“If all the excellent instruction they get at SFA is to pay off, it will only be because the students themselves step out of their comfort zone and dare to aim high,” Lias said. “Of course, the students have to bring a lot of their own creativity to the table, but our composition studio is designed to provide the best instruction, along with the encouragement and support to foster growth and set students on their way to a successful life in music.”

Henkel is working toward a Masters in Music Composition at Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio. He is also working on three different commissions: a trumpet solo (with piano and percussion accompaniment), a clarinet work for a group of clarinetists he met in France, and a piece for the Zodiac Trio.

“I am excited to say that all three commissioned will receive world premiere performances next year,” he said. “On the side, I am working on a few small projects with some friends that I love at SFA and an orchestra piece that may have a possible reading with the Toledo Symphony Orchestra.”

Henkel’s success thus far is just one example of the international footprint that the SFA Composition Studio is making this year.

“We’ve had students doing summer programs or conferences in Italy, France, Canada and Alaska,” Lias said. “This fall, I’m taking two students to the ISCM World Music Days in Vancouver, and one of our graduate students will be studying the entire semester at our partner program in Hobart, Tasmania (Australia).

“There is a vibrant and positive energy in the current group of students,” he added, “and some of our recent graduates are winning national and international honors.”

One of Henkel’s dreams is to create a studio for young and aspiring musicians. He hopes to help young musicians improve their musical technique with their school music – for solo and ensemble, all-region, area and state music auditions, or college audition music. He also hopes to establish an environment in which composers of all ages learn from and collaborate with one another “in a fun and professional environment,” he said.

“In the end, I want to embody what Stephen Lias has been saying to me and many other composers who have walked in to his office and classroom: Take Bold Steps!”

When Cleo House Jr. first stepped foot onto the campus of Stephen F. Austin State University, it was to attend the High School Summer Theatre Workshop presented by the School of Theatre. Little did he know as a young aspiring actor in the early 1990s that he would return to SFA in the summer of 2017 as the director of the School of Theatre.

“It’s truly a full-circle type of … well it’s more than a moment,” House said. “It’s a life event … a full-circle life event that has brought me back to SFA and the School of Theatre. It was here that I discovered that I wasn’t alone in my passion for theatre.”

Athletics was an important part of House’s early family life. Growing up mostly in Hooks, Texas, his dad, now deceased, was a free agent for the Miami Dolphins. His brother graduated from SFA and played Lumberjack football on scholarship. His sister is a volleyball coach at Springhill ISD. His mother is a gospel minister.

But it was the theatre that captured House’s attention.

“In a way, SFA helped me solidify my life’s journey,” he added. “I was never one of those people who had doubts about their professional path, and there were plenty of folks who had questions about the choice for a life in the theatrical arts. But I knew theatre was it for me. I had always felt like a life in education was what I wanted, but it wasn’t until I found theatre that I realized what subject in education would be my specialty.”

He earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Texas A&M Commerce and a Master of Fine Arts from Texas Tech University. He taught and eventually served as coordinator/chair of theatre and performing arts programs at Penn State University – Berks, Texas Southern University and Clark Atlanta University.

Professionally, he acted in a production of “Macbeth” that was co-directed by Aaron Posner and Teller (of Penn and Teller fame) and performed for two preeminent authors in their plays – August Wilson (“The Piano Lesson”) and Wole Soyinka (“Death and the King’s Horseman”). He has worked in a variety of theatre venues, such as The Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C., The Lantern Theatre in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Two Rivers Theatre Company in Red Bank, New Jersey. Recent directing credits include “Miss Julie,” “Lend Me a Tenor,” “Dreamgirls” and “Medea.”

The diversity of the SFA theatre faculty and the school’s student body attracted House to apply for the director’s position, which was left vacant when former director Scott Shattuck became associate dean of the SFA College of Fine Arts.

House also feels a connection to SFA theatre students.

“I believe that how I grew up is very similar to the type of student that SFA attracts,” House said. Because of opportunities like UIL One Act Play and the summer theatre workshop, House believes many students come to SFA with a “burning desire” to establish the kind of work ethic necessary for a successful career in theatre.

“I also knew Allen Oster, and he was a fantastic teacher that influenced many like myself who attended the high school theatre workshop at SFA,” he said. “But even more than all of that, Scott Shattuck has done an excellent job leading the department and establishing the School of Theatre’s reputation as a school of choice for many in the South.”

House said he is looking forward to learning more about the culture of SFA, the College of Fine Arts and the School of Theatre.

“I look forward to continuing the relationships the School of Theatre has developed over the years with the community,” he said. “Ultimately, I’m excited about the opportunities this new era presents for the School of Theatre.

“The School of Theatre has a great opportunity to capitalize even more on the diversity that is represented among the students,” he added. “Another factor that makes working at SFA desirable is the fact that the School of Theatre is supported by the university in a real and tangible way.”

Although he plans to spend a good deal of time initially “listening and learning,” House said his ultimate goal for the school is to “shoot for the stars.”

“It’s my intention to make sure that everyone knows how awesome our students and faculty are,” he said. “I want to find more opportunities for our students and faculty to gain recognition for their talents beyond our walls – which in turn increases the profile of the School of Theatre. It’s very important to continue to lessen the divide between a professional career in theatre and being a student at SFA. I want to increase the number of students we have going into graduate programs; to increase interdisciplinary collaborations with other SFA departments and the community; to get off campus to see theatre; and to support all the things the School of Theatre is already doing so beautifully.”

House officially takes over Sept. 1 as director of the School of Theatre. Dr. Rick Jones, who has served as interim director for the past year, will return to full-time teaching this fall.

The Stephen F. Austin State University School of Art and the Friends of the Visual Arts will present a free, one-night screening of “The Barkley Marathons: The Race That Eats Its Young” at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 1, in The Cole Art Center @ The Old Opera House in downtown Nacogdoches.

The documentary, directed by Annika Iltis and Timothy James Kane, is about a race in Tennessee in which, during its first 25 years, only 10 people have finished. Based on the historic prison escape of James Earl Ray, this cult-like race tempts people from around the world to test their limits of physical and mental endurance, according to the synopsis at imdb.com.

The Barkley Marathons, created by ultra-runner Lazarus Lake, only accepts 35 runners each year through a secret application process. The race has an ever-changing and unmarked course. Participants battle through treacherous terrain to find hidden books as proof of following the route, according to imdb.com.

The film was named best feature documentary at the Kansas City FilmFest, earned an audience award at the Austin Film Festival, and earned numerous awards at the United Kingdom’s Sheffield Adventure Film Festival.

This screening is part of the School of Art’s monthly Friday Film Series and is sponsored in part by William Arscott, Nacogdoches Film Festival, Karon Gillespie, Mike Mollot, David Kulhavy, Brad Maule, John and Kristen Heath, Galleria Z, Jill Carrington, Jean Stephens, Jim and Mary Neal, Richard Orton, Nacogdoches Junior Forum and Main Street Nacogdoches.

The Cole Art Center is located at 329 E. Main St. For more information, call (936) 468-1131.