Everything Nac

Stephen F. Austin State University’s Symphony Orchestra, directed by Dr. Gregory Grabowski, will perform the music of Late Classical Era/Early Romantic German composers W.A. Mozart and Felix Mendelssohn when the student ensemble performs at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 27, in W.M. Turner Auditorium, Griffith Fine Arts Building, on the SFA campus.

Music faculty member Dr. Jennifer Dalmas, violin, will be featured on Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto.

“Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto is a cornerstone of the violin repertoire and combines virtuosity with beautiful lyricism,” said Grabowski, director of orchestral activities at SFA. “It’s incredibly challenging for the soloist while also being accessible for audiences.”

Mozart’s Symphony No. 38, nicknamed “Prague,” showcases Mozart’s “brilliance as a composer, balancing vibrant energy and moments of serene beauty. While classical in essence, Mozart begins to push the boundaries with a longer introduction, more interesting harmonies, and all around greater complexity,” explains Grabowski.

“Together with Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto, this program features two staples in the orchestral canon that have rightly lasted the test of time,” he added.

Concert tickets are $8 for adults, $6 for seniors and $3 for students and youth. To purchase tickets, call the SFA Fine Arts Box Office at (936) 468-6407 or visit finearts.sfasu.edu. For additional information, contact the SFA School of Music at (936) 468-4602.

Students in Stephen F. Austin State University’s secondary education program created book-based activity kits for children to enjoy while their caregivers study, work or visit campus.

Intended for children in pre-K through sixth grade, the kits can be found on a book cart on the first floor of SFA’s Steen Library. Currently, there are 15 books to choose from that have adjoining activity kits with instructions.

The books can be checked out from the library services desk and enjoyed anywhere in the library then returned to the same desk. Children are welcome to keep the kits, which include things like coloring sheets, word games and scissors for cutouts, as well as extension activities that they can do at home and information about the author and illustrator.

Students in education studies professor Dr. Heather Olson Beal’s “Sociocultural and Historic Perspectives in American Education” course selected books from the Steen Library curriculum collection to create the literacy activity kits. Created with assistance from research librarian Tina Oswald, Olson Beal hopes the activity kits will make the campus more family friendly.

“It’s beneficial to my students in an introductory course because it’s a real, hands-on project wherein they are developing fun activities to do that are loosely associated with a book in the library’s curriculum collection,” Olson Beal said. “I hope it’s beneficial to faculty, staff, students and even community members with young children who visit the library. Seems like a win-win!”

Sarah Cook, a junior theatre education major from Brownsboro, Texas, and Mac Burns, a junior theatre education major from Belton, Texas, selected the book “Pink is for Blobfish” by Jess Keating. Their activity for this book was a matching game for kids to sort pictures of different animals into their respective colors.

“I think the kids will enjoy the activity portion of the kit most because it grabs their attention and helps them relate things from the book to the activity,” Cook said. “Projects like these bring us together to strive toward a common goal: bettering the education of students. To be a part of something like this has been a wonderful experience.”

Olson Beal said 45 kits were made last semester and are only available while supplies last.

For more information about the activity kits, contact Oswald at toswald@sfasu.edu or call (936) 468-1861.

ABOUT STEPHEN F. AUSTIN STATE UNIVERSITY

Stephen F. Austin State University, the newest member of The University of Texas System, began a century ago as a teachers’ college in Texas’ oldest town, Nacogdoches. Today, it has grown into a regional institution comprising six colleges — business, education, fine arts, forestry and agriculture, liberal and applied arts, and sciences and mathematics. Accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, SFA enrolls approximately 11,000 students while providing the academic breadth of a state university with the personalized attention of a private school. The main campus encompasses 421 acres that include 37 academic facilities, nine residence halls, and 68 acres of recreational trails that wind through its six gardens. The university offers more than 80 bachelor’s degrees, more than 40 master’s degrees and four doctoral degrees covering more than 120 areas of study. Learn more at sfasu.edu.

By Parastoo Nikravesh, senior marketing communications specialist at Stephen F. Austin State University

Tickets are still available to see the comedy of Joe Zimmerman and Justin Smith when they perform in a University Series event at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 22, in W.M. Turner Auditorium, Griffith Fine Arts Building, on the Stephen F. Austin State University campus.

A favorite of late-night shows such as “The Tonight Show,” “Last Comic Standing” and “Comedy Central,” Zimmerman is a frequent performer on university campuses and at corporate events. His opening act is Justin Smith, a New York City-based comedian from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

Single event tickets for Joe Zimmerman and Justin Smith are adult, $30; senior (62 or better), $24; SFA faculty/staff, $15; non-SFA student/youth, $12; SFA student, $3. To purchase tickets, call the Fine Arts Box Office at (936) 468-6407 or (888) 240-ARTS, or visit the Fine Arts Box Office website. The Fine Arts Box Office is located in the second floor lobby, Griffith Fine Arts Building, SFA campus. A reception will be held in the second-floor lobby immediately following the performance.

The University Series is hosted by the Micky Elliott College of Fine Arts at SFA.