Everything Nac

The Swingin’ Axes and Swingin’ Aces jazz bands at Stephen F. Austin State University will present their final concert of the fall semester when the student ensembles perform at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 11, in Cole Concert Hall on the SFA campus.

The Swingin’ Axes, directed by Dr. J.D. Salas, professor of tuba and euphonium studies in the School of Music, will be joined on the concert by Dr. Ben Morris, assistant professor of composition, on piano. The Swingin’ Axes will perform works by Sammy Nestico, Tom Kubis, Bob Florence and Freddie Hubbard.

The Swingin’ Aces, directed by Dr. Jake Walburn, associate professor of trumpet, will perform works by Gordon Goodwin, Harry Warren, Charles Mingus and Pat Methany.

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.

Stephen F. Austin State University School of Theatre and Dance will open “Lord of the Flies” Thursday, Nov. 3, for its four-day run in Kennedy Auditorium on the SFA campus. The 1954 novel by Nobel Prize-winning British author William Golding, “Lord of the Flies” is the story about a group of young boys, trapped on a desert island, who discover the darkness of human nature. Rehearsing a scene from the play are, from left, Austin Raymond, playing Henry, Liberty City junior; Kaleb Calton, playing Bill, Katy sophomore; Anthony Krosecz, playing Jack, Sugar Land freshman; David Smith, playing Maurice, Houston sophomore; and Alex Karnell, playing Roger, Austin sophomore. Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, Nov. 3 through 5, and at 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 5 and 6. General ticket prices are: adult, $15; senior (62+), $10; youth (high school and younger), $8; SFA faculty/staff, $8; non-SFA student, $8; and SFA student, $5. For ticketing information or to purchase tickets, call the Fine Arts Box Office at (936) 468-6407 or (888) 240-ARTS, or visit boxoffice.sfasu.edu.

Students in Stephen F. Austin State University’s advanced beef cattle course will host the eighth annual Purple Premium Cattle Sale at 10 a.m. Nov. 12 at the university’s Beef Center, located at 442 County Road 123 in Nacogdoches.

Attendees can bid on high-quality registered and influenced Beefmaster bulls, heifers and genetics at the sale, which is free and open to the public.

“The advanced beef cattle class has been hard at work preparing for another successful cattle sale,” said Dr. Erin Brown, professor of animal science at SFA who teaches the class. “This is one of the only 100% student-organized sales in the country.”

The class helps students learn through hands-on experiences, said Bryan Bagley, a junior animal science major from Carthage.

“The sale has helped in making me a better team member through all the responsibilities that come with being part of a successful team,” Bagley said.

Students coordinate with businesses, cattle producers and local community members to prepare for the sale. They handle every aspect of the event, from sourcing cattle from producers to planning and marketing the sale. Students gain skills in oral and written communication, explore the seedstock industry, and establish industry contacts throughout the process.

This prepares students for real-word careers, said Emma Ray, a senior animal science major from Alvarado and this year’s sale manager.

“As a student gearing up to enter the workforce, the experiences I have gained have been conducive to understanding production agriculture and how the cattle industry fits into it,” Ray said.

To learn more about the Department of Agriculture in SFA’s Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture, visit sfasu.edu/atcofa.

The Stone Fort Wind Quintet at Stephen F. Austin State University will present works by David Sartor, Daniel Dorff, Astor Piazzolla and other composers when the faculty ensemble performs at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 8, in Cole Concert Hall on the SFA campus.

“The Stone Fort Wind Quintet is pleased to introduce our new double reed faculty members: Dr. Pablo Moreno, oboe, and Dr. Cody Hunter, bassoon,” said Dr. Christina Guenther, professor flute at SFA and quintet member. Other members include Dr. Christopher Ayer, clarinet; and Dr. Andrea Denis, horn.

The program opens with Sartor’s “Aspirations,” written for and dedicated to Vanderbilt University’s Blair Woodwind Quintet. The work was a national finalist for the American Prize in Chamber Music Composition. The third movement, “Vivo,” which is “an energetic movement with recognizable themes that travel between the instruments,” according to Guenther, will be performed.

Dorff’s five-movement wind quintet “Cape May Breezes” depicts different scenes in Cape May: “Breezing Into Town,” “Victorian Garden Party,” “Dusk at Sunset Beach” and “Night Breezes on the Boardwalk.” “Listeners can easily picture the images portrayed through the musical text painting,” Guenther said.

Also on the program are three movements of Jenni Brandon’s “Five Frogs” depicting various events in the life of frogs, including “Leaping,” “Swimming” and “Catching Bugs.” The quintet will perform Kenji Bunch’s “Shout Chorus,” which was premiered by the Imani Winds in 2006 in Vail, Colorado. “It is a piece with an incredibly driving force, complex rhythms and shifting moods, demanding superb technique and absolute focus from the performers,” writes Guenther.

Written while Piazzolla was living in Rome, “Libertango” is one of his most well-known pieces, which he referred to as “sort of a song of liberty.”

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.