Everything Nac

The Stephen F. Austin State University School of Music will present a music alumnus in concert at 6 p.m. Tuesday, March 3, in the Music Recital Hall on the SFA campus.

Gerald Wood earned a Bachelor of Music Education from SFA in 1997. He then attended the University of Southern Mississippi to earn a Master of Music in performance and completed his doctoral studies at the University of Illinois. He is currently professor of horn at the University of Texas-Arlington. He is a member of the Dallas Opera Orchestra and Dallas Wind Symphony and has performed with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. Wood is a founding member of the Four Hornsmen of the Apocalypse, a quartet that has performed internationally and has recorded a compact disc.

“Gerry is one of the finest horn students to attend SFA,” said Dr. Charles Gavin, professor of horn at SFA. “He will perform some of the great current literature for horn.”

His program features two concertos, including one by Lars-Eric Larsson and another by Wood’s horn professor at the University of Illinois, Kaz Machala.

“In addition to the standard repertoire, he will be performing a beautiful arrangement of ‘Send in the Clowns,'” Gavin added.

Wood’s performance is a feature of the School of Music’s Friends of Music Concert Series.

Concert tickets are $8 for adults, $6 for seniors and $3 for students and youth. For tickets or more information, call the SFA Fine Arts Box Office at (936) 468-6407 or visit www.finearts.sfasu.edu.

The College of Fine Arts at Stephen F. Austin State University will present the Argentine-based dance company Che Malambo in an electrifying University Series performance at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 3, in W.M. Turner Auditorium on the SFA campus. Che Malambo’s fiery melting-pot performance blends flamenco, tango, tap and Irish step dance with the drumming of traditional bombos, singing and whirling boleadoras lasso work in a powerful production. Their performance at SFA is sponsored in part by Cataract, Glaucoma, Cornea & Retina Consultants of East Texas/Benchmark Optical/Medical Arts Surgery Center. Ticket prices are $30 for adults, $24 for seniors and $12 for non-SFA students/youth. Tickets for SFA students are $3. Discounts are also available for SFA faculty and staff members. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit finearts.sfasu.edu, stop by the Box Office in Room 211 of the Griffith Fine Arts Building, or call (936) 468-6407 or (888) 240-ARTS.

Senior interior design students at Stephen F. Austin State University are showcasing their talents during the Essence of Design exhibit on display through March 28 on the second floor of the Steen Library at SFA. The exhibit is free and open to the public.

Each of the students is allotted a 64-square-foot area to create a display that showcases his or her personality, skills and design philosophy. The students’ areas are equipped with TV monitors that showcase collaborations among all SFA’s interior design classes and faculty members.

“This exhibit demonstrates what interior designers do in the real world and how much technical information is required for a design,” said Sally Ann Swearingen, associate professor of interior design and construction management in SFA’s School of Human Sciences.

The exhibit helps students prepare their portfolios for the job-search process, educate the public about interior design and experience the complete design process, from conceptualization to design development, fabrication, installation and evaluation.

Plano senior Caroline Lebeuf gained construction and troubleshooting skills while working on her double-sided display that includes sitting and shelf areas. “This was a fun way to show my love for design and my use of color and details to liven up spaces,” she said.

The interior design seniors will be available to discuss their work in person at a reception from 11 a.m. to noon Saturday, Feb. 29, in the same location as the showcase. Johnson Furniture is sponsoring the reception, and Lufkin Printing is sponsoring the invitations.

The exhibit also offers area high school students a chance to explore the interior design program at SFA.

“Our exhibit runs during an SFA Showcase Saturday event on March 28, so prospective students can see this exhibit and our facility,” Swearingen said. “We’re also inviting all area high school students interested in art, drafting and design to stop by and see the exhibit.”

To schedule a guided tour for future Lumberjacks or high school students, contact Swearingen at (936) 468-2048 or sswearingen@sfasu.edu.

By Jo Gilmore, marketing communications specialist at Stephen F. Austin State University.

“Hate speech = free speech” is the theme for the Stephen F. Austin State University Office of Multicultural Affairs’ upcoming Something to Chew On spring series.

Organizers, including hall director Sarahina Borgia and Orientation Programs student coordinator Destinee Williams, said this theme was chosen because of a recent visit from members of a religiously affiliated organization who many students felt were spouting hate speech.

Borgia and Williams wanted to use this opportunity to educate about free speech rights on university campuses as well as to inform students of their rights and effective ways to engage with various groups.

Held once each semester, Something to Chew On is an educational series aimed at creating a safe environment where students can discuss a preplanned topic. Past topics have covered difficult-to-address areas such as social justice, poverty and mental health.

​​The event is free and open to the public. It will take place at noon Wednesday, March 4, in the OMA office on the third floor of the Baker Pattillo Student Center. Snacks and door prizes will be provided.

The series is hosted by SFA’s Lumberjack Cultural Association.

The Men’s Choir and Women’s Choir at Stephen F. Austin State University will present the program “Testaments” at 7:30 p.m. Monday, March 2, in Cole Concert Hall in Wright Music Building on the SFA campus.

Both choirs are directed by Dr. Tod Fish, associate director of choral activities at SFA. Other music faculty members performing on the concert are Dr. Thomas Nixon and Hyun Ji Oh, collaborative pianists; Dr. Jennifer Dalmas, violin; and Dr. Brad Meyer, percussion. Graduate students David Zielke and Greg Simmons will assist in conducting the Men’s Choir, which will perform Randall Thompson’s “Testament of Freedom.”

“This work was written in 1943, while the United States was in the middle of our involvement in World War II,” Fish said. “The work, based upon writings of Thomas Jefferson, speaks to the freedoms we have as a nation. The work is a testament to those who bravely fought and sacrificed for the liberties we enjoy today.”

The concert will also serve as a sendoff for the Women’s Choir when they travel to Little Rock, Arkansas, to sing at the Southwest American Choral Directors Association (SWACDA) conference.

“Performing at this conference is a tremendous opportunity for our vocal/choral area and School of Music, as it is the first time for one of our secondary choirs to receive such a distinction,” Fish said.

Following the concert theme of “Testaments,” Fish explained that the Women’s Choir’s selection to perform at SWACDA “is a testament to those who have helped the choir achieve this honor.”

“It is a testament to the women who have committed themselves to excellence in previous years as members of the Women’s Choir,” he said, adding that being chosen for an ACDA conference requires three consecutive years of outstanding performance recordings. “It is a testament to the leadership of Director of Choral Activities Dr. Michael Murphy, as we changed the makeup of our choirs to create the Women’s and Men’s choirs with the hopes of possibly being chosen for an ACDA convention in the future, and the future is here. It is a testament to our voice faculty and their overwhelming support of our choirs.

“It is also a testament to our School of Music Director Dr. Gary Wurtz and College of Fine Arts Dean Dr. A.C. “Buddy” Himes, as they supported and helped secure funding for our travels,” Fish added. “I am grateful to everyone whose efforts played a hand in this opportunity, especially our students.”

Zielke and Simmons will conduct the second and third movements of “Testament of Freedom,” respectively, while Nixon is featured on the challenging orchestral reduction of Thompson’s work.

The Women’s Choir will be joined by Dalmas and Meyer on Jake Runestad’s “Sing, Wearing the Sky.” The faculty members will also join the choir for its Little Rock performance. Brandon William’s arrangement of Clara Schumann’s “Er ist gekommen” will feature collaborative pianist Oh on what Fish described as “a virtuosic accompaniment.”

In addition to the Thompson work, the Men’s Choir will perform Paul Rardin’s raucous piece, “Sound Off,” which Fish described as “a testament to dudes being bros.”

“It will be great fun for the Men’s Choir and audience alike,” he said.

The Women’s Choir will reprise works from its fall concert by Runestad, Schumann/Williams, and Einojuhani Rautavaara, but will finish out the program with Sarah Quartel’s “Birds’ Lullaby” and “Music Down in My Soul” by Moses Hogan.

Concert tickets are $8 for adults, $6 for seniors and $3 for students and youth. For tickets or more information, call the SFA Fine Arts Box Office at (936) 468-6407 or visit www.finearts.sfasu.edu.