Everything Nac

Douglas Brinkley, whom CNN has declared, “a man who knows more about the presidency than any human being alive,” will headline the 2017 installment of the Archie McDonald Speaker Series at Stephen F. Austin State University.

Brinkley is an American historian, best-selling author, CNN presidential historian and history professor at Rice University in Houston. He is a sought-after commentator on U.S. presidential history and has authored books on Presidents Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan.

The speaker series event is free and scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Monday, April 24, in the Baker Pattillo Student Center Grand Ballroom on the SFA campus. A private reception for 100 guests will be held prior to the main event. Private reception tickets can be purchased by contacting April Smith, SFA associate director of development, at (936) 468-5406.

“We are pleased to have such a prestigious presidential scholar and historian join us for our 2017 Archie McDonald Speaker Series,” said Dr. Steve Bullard, SFA provost and vice president for academic affairs. “Douglas’ work has allowed for an inside look into the lives of some of America’s greatest leaders. His contributions are indispensable to the study of history.”

Six of Brinkley’s books have been selected as New York Times “Notable Books of the Year,” and a number of his most recent publications have become New York Times best sellers. His most recent book, “The Nixon Tapes,” published in July 2014, discusses fascinating aspects of Nixon’s presidency, including the year Nixon opened relations with China, negotiated the SALT I Arms Agreement with the Soviet Union and won a landslide re-election victory.

Brinkley completed his bachelor’s degree at Ohio State University and received his doctoral degree in U.S. diplomatic history from Georgetown University in 1989. He then spent a year each at the U.S. Naval Academy and Princeton University teaching history.

Before joining the Rice University faculty, Brinkley served as professor of history and director of the Roosevelt Center at Tulane University in New Orleans. From 1994 until 2005, he was the Stephen E. Ambrose Professor of History and director of the Eisenhower Center for American Studies at the University of New Orleans.

On the literary front, Brinkley has edited Jack Kerouac’s diaries, Woody Guthrie’s novel, Hunter S. Thompson’s letters and Theodore Dreiser’s travelogue. His work on civil rights includes “Rosa Parks,” published in 2000, and the forthcoming “Portable Civil Rights Reader.”

Brinkley has achieved notable status among presidential historians and received a number of recognitions for his work, including the Benjamin Franklin Award and the Theodore and Franklin Roosevelt Naval History Prize for two of his publications. He also was awarded the BusinessWeek Book of the Year Award and was named 2004 Humanist of the Year by the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities. In February, Brinkley won a Grammy Award in the Large Jazz Ensemble category for producing the Ted Nash Big Band album “President Suite: Eight Variations on Freedom.”

Brinkley is a contributing editor for Vanity Fair and a frequent contributor to The New York Times, The New Yorker and The Atlantic Monthly. He also is a member of the Theodore Roosevelt Association, the Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute, the Council on Foreign Relations and the Century Club. The Chicago Tribune has deemed him “America’s new past master.”

Brinkley lives in Austin and Houston with his wife and three children.

The Archie McDonald Speaker Series was created in 2010 by SFA’s College of Liberal and Applied Arts. Dr. Brian Murphy, dean of the college, designed the event to honor and preserve the legacy of Dr. Archie McDonald as a distinguished scholar, educator and community commentator. In the tradition of McDonald’s writings and oral presentations, a prominent national figure is hosted annually at SFA to discuss contemporary cultural issues.

McDonald taught history at SFA for 48 years and served as director of the East Texas Historical Association and editor of the association’s journal for 37 years. He was a past president of the Texas State Historical Association, past vice chair of the Texas Historical Commission and author/editor of more than 20 books on historical topics. Along with teaching, he was a commentator on Red River Radio in Shreveport and wrote a weekly column for area newspapers. He passed away Aug. 16, 2012.

McDonald participated in the first three events in the speaker series, interviewing former heavyweight champion boxer and iconic businessman George Foreman, Apollo 12 astronaut and professional artist Alan Bean, and 61st U.S. Secretary of State James A. Baker III. Additional guests have included former U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, Grammy award-winning singer, composer and actor Lyle Lovett, Olympic All-Around Gold Medal winner in gymnastics Mary Lou Retton, and legendary head football coach Gene Stallings.

SFA’s Student Government Association sponsors the speaker series, which is open to the public. Passes may be obtained at the Involvement Center on the first floor of the Baker Pattillo Student Center on the SFA campus or at the Nacogdoches Convention and Visitors Bureau, located at 200 East Main St. For more information, call (936) 468-5406.

Twelve-year-old Nacogdoches pianist Antonio “Nio” Ajero has been invited to perform on “From The Top” with host Christopher O’Riley when it comes to LeTourneau University’s Belcher Center in Longview on Saturday, March 25.

“From the Top” is considered America’s largest and most prestigious national platform dedicated to celebrating the stories, talents and character of classically trained young musicians. The show, distributed by National Public Radio, has an audience of more than a half million listeners tuned into more than 220 radio stations nationwide. Red River Radio and The Belcher Center are sponsoring the Longview performance. The show is at 7:30 p.m., and Nio will perform Caprice á la Scarlatti in G major by Ignacy Jan Paderewski.

Although Nio is no stranger to performing before large audiences – he has performed a solo recital annually since he was 6 years old at Stephen F. Austin State University where his father is a piano professor – NPR’s “From The Top” is probably his most high-profile performance to date, according to his dad, Dr. Mario Ajero.

“Nio started piano lessons with me when he was about 3 years old,” Ajero said, “and it was a great learning experience, both from his perspective as a student and with my dual role of parent/teacher, to have untethered access to each other throughout the week rather than just the traditional weekly piano lesson meeting.

“That allowed us to move at an accelerated pace and make piano study a central component of his educational development,” he said. “Both he and his younger sister, Olivia, have served as sort of ‘experimental students’ in my research interests in incorporating technology in piano pedagogy, and they both have reaped the benefits of that.”

Nio has been a featured performer at conferences in which Ajero presented, ranging from the TEDx Conference hosted at SFA to the Australasian Piano Pedagogy Conference in Australia. These opportunities built up his confidence, leading him to win the Red River Radio Young Artist Competition multiple times. He received first prize at the Southern Methodist University Institute for Young Pianists Competition and, most recently, first prize at the Baylor/Waco Piano Competition earlier this year. Nio’s most notable achievement was when he was awarded the National Gold Medal from The Royal Conservatory Music Development Program last year for earning the highest score in the United States in their Level 9 Piano Exam.

In addition to studying with his father, Nio takes piano lessons with Linda Parr in SFA’s Music Preparatory Division, which, with Parr’s “meticulous attention to details in performance,” has further prepared him for this opportunity to perform for a national audience, Ajero said.

“Nio has an outstanding pianistic talent with an innate ability and confidence to communicate what he believes to be the strongest interpretation of whatever he is playing” Parr said. “I’ve discovered countless times that he ‘gets’ and retains both subtle and the more complex musical and artistic ideas. He has perfect pitch, memorizes quickly, and is truly excited to perform at each lesson.

“Nio constantly surprises and even overwhelms me with his live performances in both recitals and competitions,” she added. “He is growing quickly as a musician and a pianist, and is now growing into a young man, as well. He communicates beautifully, more consistently, and I believe the ongoing ‘musician’ part will include future experiences with chamber music, accompanying, probably conducting and composition, as well.”

Nio has his eyes on “the big name schools,” like Juilliard, the Curtis Institute and New England Conservatory, to name a few. But he and his parents try to stay grounded in understanding that it is a highly competitive field, and there are countless other pianists out there who seek similar opportunities.

“He definitely sees music as the focus of his future career,” Ajero said. “We’ll see how far he can go on the concert stage, but I was flattered to learn that he hopes to teach and maybe run his own studio or music school one day and perhaps with his sister!”

Performing on “From The Top” also involves a three-day commitment where Nio and the other performers will receive training through the initiative’s Arts Leadership Program and will prepare an outreach musical program for one of the local Longview schools.

“I’m optimistic that the experience will help inspire him to get involved with doing more outreach programs in our own community and others to encourage more young people to get involved with piano and other musical studies,” Ajero said.

Parr sees the NPR performance as a possible gateway to future opportunities, as well as a confidence builder.

“I suppose that this could be a pivotal moment for him in that it may reinforce his desire to become the best pianist and musician possible,” she said. “Such a public forum may connect Nio with many wonderful future contacts and opportunities for performance. I have high hopes for him to continue developing in a healthy way with many new friends, mentors and creative outlets to share his love of music. Nio has a wonderful family – hardworking, but also fun-loving. He is the sweet guy he is because of that constant support.”

Both Nio’s father and mother, Gina, are obviously proud of their son’s accomplishments, but the national NPR performance holds “particular significance.”

“We’ve listened to the show for years now, and it feels unreal that Nio will be a part of it,” Ajero said. “It is a tremendous honor for Nio and might give him hope to attain similar accolades in the future. At the same time, we are also delighted that, despite all these successes, Nio remains a down-to-earth, nice and compassionate person. I don’t think many parents could ask for more than that.”

Tickets to the performance are available for purchase at the Belcher Center website: https://belchercenter.ticketforce.com/eventperformances.asp?evt=159

The recording of the show will be broadcast the week of May 29 on NPR and also on “From The Top’s” website and podcast. Additional details are available on the website at: https://www.fromthetop.org/musician/antonio-nio-ajero

East Texas opera lovers will see a first when they attend the Stephen F. Austin State University School of Music’s performance of Otto Nicolai’s “The Merry Wives of Windsor” to be presented March 30 through April 1 on the SFA campus.

“The Merry Wives of Windsor” is rarely performed outside of German speaking countries unless a university opera program performs it in English, according to Dr. Deborah Dalton, associate professor of voice at SFA and the opera’s director.

“This is an SFA Opera Theater premiere,” Dalton said. “This will be the first performance of this opera in East Texas!”

Based on William Shakespeare’s play of the same name, “The Merry Wives of Windsor” is about the escapades Falstaff, an old and decidedly rotund knight, who still believes that he is irresistible to women, Dalton explained.

“When he is in need of funds, he writes letters to a couple of merchants’ wives so that he may woo one of them and gain access to her husband’s purse,” she said. “Unfortunately, these two wives are neighbors and friends. When they discover that Falstaff has written identical letters to each of them, these merry wives decide to have some fun and exact their revenge.”

When they encourage Falstaff under the nose of one very jealous husband, Falstaff ends up being dumped in a cold river along with the dirty laundry, dressed as a woman, beaten and chased out of the house and, finally, tormented and frightened by elves, spirits and insects under a magical oak tree.

“The jealous husband is tricked a few times, and the merry wives have a high old time laughing at them all,” Dalton said.

The opera is selected each year to specifically fit the voices and experience of current SFA voice students. This year’s opera has nine major roles. All, with the exception of one, are double cast, with students performing on alternating nights.

“This gives 17 students the opportunity to learn, rehearse and perform an opera role,” Dalton said.

The audience may recognize the overture, which is popular on orchestral concerts, and the soprano aria, “Nun eilt herbei” (Come to my aid), is well-known for its beauty and its difficulty, Dalton explained.

“All of the music is very Italianate and beautiful, and the SFA singers are up to the challenge,” she said.

Several SFA theatre students are assisting with the production. Kathleen Easterling, senior theatre major from Central Heights, is costume coordinator. She has measured all 45 cast members in order to determine which costumes must be rented. Others will be pulled from the SFA costume shop stock. The set is more representational than realistic, Dalton said, and sophomore Isabel McNeil of Katy is designing and supervising its construction. The lighting design is by Katy junior Travis Wilson, who recently co-designed the Mainstage production of “Intimate Apparel.”

“The Merry Wives of Windsor” is an opera everyone will enjoy, Dalton said.

“It is a comedy with plenty of physical ‘bits’ and, of course, the music, the singing, and the orchestral playing are all gorgeous,” she said.

The opera will be performed at 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday in W.M. Turner Auditorium in the Griffith Fine Arts Building. Tickets are $15 for adults, $10 for seniors and $7.50 for students and youth. For tickets or more information, visit www.finearts.sfasu.edu or call the SFA Fine Arts Box Office at (936) 468-6407.
Cutline: The Stephen F. Austin State University School of Music will present Otto Nicolai’s opera “The Merry Wives of Windsor” at 7:30 nightly Thursday through Saturday, March 30 through April 1, in W.M. Turner Auditorium on the SFA campus.