Everything Nac

The Stephen F. Austin State University Campus Recreation Department will host the fifth annual Worsham Bass Tournament on Saturday, June 24, at Jackson Hill Park and Marina on Lake Sam Rayburn in Broaddus.

All proceeds go to the Dr. Raymond Lee Worsham Scholarship, which provides financial assistance to student employees of SFA’s Campus Recreation Department.

Dr. Raymond “Ray” Worsham was SFA intramural department director for 43 years. The scholarship was established through the Alumni Association to honor Worsham’s dedication and lasting impact at the university.

Participants can register for the tournament online at www.sfaalumni.com/event/Bass2017, mail a registration form to the SFA Alumni Association or register at the Jackson Hill Marina boat ramp before the tournament starts.

There will be a 60 percent payout for first, second and third places, as well as a prize package for “Big Bass.” The tournament begins with a shotgun start approximately 30 minutes before sunrise. Entry fee is $150 per boat.

For more information, contact Sarah Kouliavtsev at KouliavtSG@sfasu.edu or the Alumni Association at (936) 468-3407.

Those attending this year’s Texas Blueberry Festival June 10 in Nacogdoches will once again see familiar costumed characters walking the downtown brick streets and have the opportunity to view a film depicting life in Texas’ oldest town in 1938.

Students in the Stephen F. Austin State University School of Theatre will be promoting the upcoming SFA SummerStage Festival, while the SFA School of Art will host three screenings of “Found Footage: Rediscovering Nacogdoches” and the George Hooker short promotional film “Nacogdoches: The Oldest Town” at 10 a.m., noon and 2 p.m. inside The Cole Art Center @ The Old Opera House.

“Found Footage” features scenes of Nacogdoches people and businesses in 1938 documented on film. The Stephen F. Austin State University College of Fine Arts and Humanities Texas, in association with the Charles and Lois Marie Bright Foundation, championed the effort to restore the forgotten 16mm film, labeled “Nacogdoches 1938.” Discovered at Nacogdoches High School in 1967 but forgotten until a few years ago, the film was digitally restored and viewed in 2014 for the first time in 70 years.

Also throughout the day Saturday outside Cole Art Center, theatre students will appear in costumes portraying popular characters from fairy tales and children’s stories. Children (and adults) will have the opportunity to talk with the students and take photos with them, according to Angela Bacarisse, professor of design and arts management at SFA. The School of Theatre’s trademark dragon character, Schlaftnicht, from the children’s show “Trudi and the Minstrel,” performed the summer of 2005, will make his annual Blueberry Festival appearance. A costumed dinosaur will make its debut at the festival this year.

Theatre students will also promote this year’s SummerStage Festival, which kicks off Tuesday, June 27, and runs through July 15. The family friendly festival will feature the children’s favorite “Ivy + Bean the Musical,” with book, music and lyrics by Scott Elmegreen and based on books by Annie Barrows as illustrated by Sophie Blackall, and the America classic “The Miracle Worker,” a three-act play by William Gibson based on Helen Keller’s autobiography, “The Story of My Life.”

Theatre students will also sell crafts and do face painting as a fundraiser for their study abroad trip to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in Scotland in August to produce a student-written play.

The Cole Art Center traditionally serves as an official “oasis” during the festival, according to Lisa Steed, events coordinator for SFA galleries, with tables and chairs set up inside where festival patrons can escape the heat. The art center’s restrooms will also be available to festival-goers.

Volunteers with the Friends of the Visual Arts will man an outside tent where they will sell homemade gumbo, blueberry tea and blueberry baked goods with proceeds going toward funding grants and scholarships the FVA awards annually to students in the School of Art. The FVA will also sell newly available notecards that feature photos of Nacogdoches landmarks as photographed by Christopher Talbot, Bill Nieberding, Ryan Russell, Stanley Bohon and other local photographers.

June 10 is also the final day to view the Texas National exhibition and an exhibition of work by this year’s Texas National juror, Benito Huerta, currently displayed at Cole Art Center.

For performance times and ticketing information for the SummerStage Festival, visit theatre.sfasu.edu or call (936) 468-6407 or (888) 240-ARTS. Performances are in W.M. Turner Auditorium and the Downstage Theatre in the Griffith Fine Arts Building on the SFA campus.

Tristan W. Brewster-Arnold has been selected as this year’s Charles D. Jones Art Scholarship recipient at Stephen F. Austin State University. Brewster, a senior from Cleveland, Texas, is studying drawing in SFA’s School of Art.

The Jones scholarship, established by the SFA Friends of the Visual Arts, is awarded on an annual basis to a junior, senior or graduate level student with drawing or printmaking as his/her major study area. Students must show initiative and a broad appreciation of all of the fine arts with a concentration on printmaking, according to the eligibility criteria established by Jones.

Wesley Berg, associate professor of drawing and painting in the School of Art, nominated Brewster for the award. Berg noted that Brewster “is a talented young artist in the studio arts and demonstrates exemplary focus and dedication in the studio.”

“With a consistent work ethic and sustained interest in bettering his skills, technique and approach to art making, he creates very strong work at a level beyond his peers,” Berg said in nominating Brewster. “I see in Tristan an artist who will continue beyond his undergraduate studies, creating powerful work throughout his career.”

As Brewster’s academic advisor in the drawing area, Berg said he felt compelled to point out that Brewster’s interest in art was evident with each conversation the two had together.

“In the studio classroom, Tristan helps to elevate the quality of all the work being created by inspiring his fellow classmates to achieve at a high level,” Berg said. “Tristan spends his time outside of the classroom continuing his own art practice, beyond the requirements of his studio courses. Tristan is clearly interested in following a career as a working artist.”

The FVA has established scholarships in the name of retiring SFA School of Art professors who were employed in the School of Art for a minimum of 10 years before retirement and who contributed in a significant way to the mission of the Friends of the Visual Arts board and its fundraising activities, such as consistently donating art for fundraisers, by providing monetary assistance, or by serving on FVA committees or board.

Jones is professor emeritus in the SFA School of Art where he taught printmaking, drawing, Mexican art history and the “Art of The Book” from 1971 to 2011. During that time, he was named a Regents Professor and received a Distinguished Professor Award from the Alumni Association and a Teaching Excellence Award from the university. He is now the director and master printer for the LaNana Creek Press at SFA and has had exhibitions of his work worldwide.

The SFA Friends of the Visual Arts is made up of community members who support the arts in East Texas and provide monetary assistance to students enrolled in the School of Art by conducting fundraisers, such as the upcoming annual 12 x 12 event in July.

Katherine Liller has been selected as this year’s recipient of the Robert Kinsell Art Scholarship, awarded by the Friends of the Visual Arts at Stephen F. Austin State University.

Chris Talbot, director of the SFA School of Art, nominated Liller, a sophomore from Cypress with a major in photography, for the award.

“Katie is an excellent student and has a true passion for photography,” Talbot said in his nomination. “She goes beyond the required and has an infectiously positive attitude.

“She is a leader in the Art Alliance student organization and (supports) the other students and the art community in Nacogdoches,” he added. “She is a joy to have in class and shows great potential.”

The SFA Friends of the Visual Arts established the Kinsell scholarship to support the educational goals of students currently enrolled in the School of Art by providing financial assistance to outstanding students in the visual arts program. The scholarship also honors Kinsell as a teacher, as an ardent supporter of the arts in the Nacogdoches community, and as a huge supporter of the FVA and its fundraising activities.

An art professor at SFA for 25 years before retiring in 2013, Kinsell taught courses in painting, drawing, figure drawing and advertising design. The Robert Kinsell Art Scholarship is awarded annually to an undergraduate or graduate level art student with painting or photography as his or her major study area, according to the criteria developed by Kinsell.

The SFA Friends of the Visual Arts is made up of community members who support the arts in East Texas and provide monetary assistance to students enrolling in the School of Art by conducting fundraisers, such as the upcoming annual 12 x 12 event in July.

A performance by 12-year-old Nacogdoches pianist Antonio “Nio” Ajero will be showcased on an upcoming episode of “From the Top,” the hit National Public Radio program featuring America’s best young classical musicians.

Hosted by acclaimed pianist Christopher O’Riley, the show will air at 11 a.m. Saturday, June 3, on Red River Radio. The episode, available for streaming and podcast at fromthetop.org, was presented by LeTourneau University and Red River Radio and taped before a live audience at LeTourneau’s Belcher Center in March.

Nio is a student of Linda Parr in the Music Preparatory Division of the Stephen F. Austin State University School of Music. He is also winner of the 2017 Baylor/Waco Solo Piano Competition and a National Gold Medal from The Royal Conservatory for earning the highest score in the United States on their Level 9 Piano Exam.

On the NPR broadcast, Nio performs Caprice à la Scarlatti in G major, Op. 14, No. 3 by Ignacy Jan Paderewski.

A seventh-grade student at Mike Moses Middle School, Nio is the son of Dr. Mario Ajero, professor of piano at SFA, and Gina Ajero.