Everything Nac

A reception for the exhibition “Denali: Artists Respond to Music Inspired by Wilderness” is slated for 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 17, in Griffith Fine Arts Gallery on the Stephen F. Austin State University campus.

SFA’s School of Art hosts the exhibition through Nov. 21. Two languages – music and visual art – combine to create works of art made in response to chamber music composed in Denali National Park. The exhibition is a collaboration between the Elements Artist Group and composers from the Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival’s Composing in the Wilderness Program, directed by SFA composing Professor Dr. Stephen Lias. SFA senior composition student Corinna Hogan of Gatesville is among the collaborating composers.

In 2017, Lias led nine experienced composers into the backcountry of Denali National Park where they composed original chamber music inspired by their wilderness experiences and shared recordings of their compositions, musical scores, ideas and inspiration with the Elements artists. The artists worked in a variety of media including fiber art, ceramic tiles, painting, poetry, and artist books to create 18 works of visual art, each one a personal response to a musical composition.

In experiencing the exhibition, a smart phone enables access to the music that inspired each artistic response. QR codes, posted throughout the exhibition, provide links to the music so that the music and art it inspired can be experienced at the same time. Binders of the musical scores and program notes are also on display as part of the exhibition.

Support of a Community Arts Development Grant from the Alaska State Council on the Arts helped fund the project along with sponsorship by The National Park Service, Alaska Geographic, Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival and Composing in the Wilderness. For more information about the project, visit https://www.composinginthewilderness.com/elements.

This exhibition and reception, which also includes a multimedia presentation, is sponsored in part by William Arscott, The Flower Shop and the Friends of the Visual Arts. Admission is free. For more information, call (936) 468-1131.

The A Cappella Choir at Stephen F. Austin State University will present “When the Poet Sings” at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 18, at Sacred Heart Catholic Church.

Conducted by Dr. Michael Murphy, director of choral activities for the School of Music, the A Cappella Choir will perform works by Petr Eben, Norman Dello Joio, Giuseppe Verdi, Ivo Antognini, Elaine Hagenberg, Brandon Waddles, Felix Mendelssohn and more.

The concert will also feature the world premiere of Andrew Smith’s “Inspiration.” SFA Director of Collaborative Piano Dr. Ron Petti will accompany. The Colony graduate student Jacob Rivas will be featured as graduate conductor.

Sacred Heart Catholic Church is located at 2508 Appleby Sand Road.

Admission is free, but donations will be accepted. For more information, visit www.finearts.sfasu.edu or call the SFA Fine Arts Box Office at (936) 468-6407.

The DC Wonder Woman College Run 5K will be a part of Homecoming festivities this year at Stephen F. Austin State University. The run will begin at 5:45 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 22, near the Baker Pattillo Student Center Plaza on the SFA campus.

The pre-race expo, featuring a DJ, interactive wall of inspiration, photo opportunities, packet pickup and more, will begin at 3 p.m. The course winds through the SFA campus and along the paved trails of the SFA Gardens’ Tucker Woods, the SFA Arboretum and the Lanana Creek Trail.

Held nationally, the DC Wonder Woman College Run series is designed to empower adults from all walks of life to unleash the super hero within. Runners, families and “super dogs” are encouraged to dress in bold and colorful super hero attire and costumes for the event.

The SFA student/faculty/alumni registration rate is $30, and the general registration rate is $35. Race registration includes exclusive race shirt, finisher’s medal, commemorative race bib, complimentary photos, and entrance to the pre-race expo and post-race finish line festival with live entertainment. In addition, a contribution from race proceeds will be made to the Boys and Girls Club of Deep East Texas.

Steve Davidson, CEO of the Boys and Girls Club of Deep East Texas, said he’s excited the run will be hosted in Nacogdoches.

“We are honored to be chosen as the race’s nonprofit of choice. As this race empowers us all to find our inner super hero, our staff members work every day to build up our children to be heroes in our communities.”

The race is produced by Riddle & Bloom and Son Events, in partnership with Warner Bros. Consumer Products on behalf of DC and SFA’s Campus Recreation Department.

For more information, race registration and merchandise, visit sfasu.edu/wwrun.