SFA University
December 7, 2017 - Stephen F. Austin State University senior Brianna Evans of Center received the Olds Family Outstanding Student Teacher Award, which honors an exemplary student teacher from SFA’s Department of Elementary Education each semester.
University field supervisor MaryAnn Bentley nominated Evans for this honor, and a committee of six SFA elementary education faculty members, who reviewed teaching videos and additional materials, selected her to receive the award.
Evans will graduate SFA this month with a bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies. Her specialization is teaching fourth through eighth grade. She completed her student teaching at Center Middle School in the Center Independent School District with eighth-grade teacher Anita Williams serving as her mentor.
By Kasi Dickerson, senior marketing communications specialist at Stephen F. Austin State University.
December 1, 2017 Nacogdoches – The choirs at Stephen F. Austin State University, along with the Festival Orchestra, will present SFA’s traditional holiday concert at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 8, in W.M. Turner Auditorium on the university campus.
The highly anticipated “Christmas Celebration” concert will feature “Magnificat in D” by Johann Sebastian Bach and other seasonal favorites, according to Dr. Michael Murphy, director of choral activities for the SFA School of Music.
SFA’s A Cappella Choir, Women’s Choir and Choral Union, with Murphy and Dr. Tod Fish conducting, will be accompanied by the Festival Orchestra. Graduate guest conductors will be Emily Bulling and Evelyn Shaffer.
“Magnificat in D” will be performed by the A Cappella Choir and will feature School of Music voice faculty members Debbie Berry, Charlotte Davis, Scott LaGraff and Richard Leonberger, along with Houston graduate student Joshua Chavira.
The program also features Leroy Anderson’s “Sleigh Ride” and a Christmas carol audience sing-a-long.
The concert is a joint presentation of the SFA College of Fine Arts and School of Music. Turner Auditorium is located in the Griffith Fine Arts Building, 2222 Alumni Drive.
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.
November 30, 2017 Nacogdoches — Although summer has come to a close, it is the perfect time for Stephen F. Austin State University students to begin planning an adventure for the summer 2018 semester.
For students in SFA’s Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture, these summer experiences, more often than not, include collecting valuable data that will inevitably be used to guide future land management practices domestically and abroad.
Perhaps one of the best examples of the college’s ongoing initiative to create meaningful scholastic experiences for students can be found in Dr. Brian Oswald’s work assisting the Netherlands in developing the country’s first quantitatively based wildland fire risk assessment.
Since 2012, Oswald, Joe C. Denman Distinguished Professor of fire ecology at SFA, along with students enrolled in SFA’s Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture, have collaborated with public safety agencies in the Netherlands to collect fire fuel load data that will ultimately be used to develop a wildfire spread model that can predict wildfire behavior.
Will Kruckeberg and Jessica Pruneda, both senior fire management majors at SFA, are the latest students to contribute to this growing body of work.
For 10 weeks, Kruckeberg and Pruneda scoured forested and coastal regions of the Netherlands collecting fuel load data to determine the quantity of fuel classes present.
“We would go through and separate the dead and live grasses and document how many dead grasses were in a given plot,” Kruckeberg said. “It’s a lot of data to collect, but in the end it makes a really good product.”
Kruckeberg and Pruneda worked directly for the Instituut Fysieke Veiligheid, an institute for disaster relief and public crisis management in the Netherlands, and they were independently responsible for every aspect of the fieldwork.
“It was a good professional development situation because we had to be self-driven,” Kruckeberg said. “It was a good opportunity to learn how to keep going, schedule our own research plots and self-motivate.”
In addition to scientific data collection, Pruneda said the opportunity to communicate with Dutch citizens about their work was exciting and meaningful because much of the population is still not aware of the country’s growing wildland fire threat.
“I loved how we got asked a lot about what we were doing,” Pruneda said. “Many of the people we talked to were confused because they don’t think about wildland fires, but we got to explain all of the aspects of the project to them.”
Students will continue to play an integral role in collecting fire fuel load data and conducting related research throughout the country into the foreseeable future. This regional data ultimately will be combined to create a national fire model used by safety agencies.
For more information on this project, contact Dr. Brian Oswald at boswald@sfasu.edu or (936) 468-2275.
Story submitted by Sarah Fuller, outreach coordinator for the Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture at Stephen F. Austin State University.
November 30, 2017 Nacogdoches – A special free one-night screening of “Christmas With the Dead” is planned for 7 p.m. Friday, December 8, in The Cole Art Center at The Old Opera House, the downtown Nacogdoches art gallery owned by Stephen F. Austin State University.
Directed by T.L. Lankford, “Christmas With the Dead” is a zombie apocalypse film based on a short story by the same name written by Nacogdoches author Joe R. Lansdale. Lansdale’s son, Keith, wrote the screenplay.
It stars SFA filmmaking instructor Brad Maule, who co-produced the film with William Arscott, professor of filmmaking at SFA. Much of the film’s soundtrack was composed and performed by students of SFA's School of Music. Original songs were performed by Kasey Lansdale, daughter of the author.
The film centers on the bizarre happenings in the fictional East Texas town of Mud Creek after a freak lightning storm causes most of the town’s inhabitants to become zombies.
Those attending the screening are encouraged to dress as zombies, according to event organizer Peyton Paulette. Some of the filmmakers and performers will be in attendance and will participate in a Q&A session following the screening.
The Cole Art Center is located at 329 E. Main St. For more information, call (936) 468-1131.
November 18, 2017 Nacogdoches — The SFA Gardens will host a garden seminar, “Deck the Halls: Using Evergreens to Decorate for the Holidays,” from 9 a.m. to noon, Saturday, Dec. 2, at the Brundrett Conservation Education Building at the SFA Pineywoods Native Plant Center, 2900 Raguet St.
Evergreen branches and garlands once served as symbols of enduring life and a fruitful year to come. Join Dawn Stover, research associate with SFA Gardens, to learn how to create elegant wreaths and garlands using materials from the garden.
Participants will learn principles of wreath, garland and centerpiece construction and make a wreath to enjoy and take home for the holidays.
In addition to the traditional wreaths and garlands, Stover will introduce new crafts using natural items from the garden and forest. All materials will be provided.
Class size is limited, so register in advance by calling (936) 468-1832, or email sfagardens@sfasu.edu. The cost is $25 for SFA Garden members and $30 for non-members.
November 17, 2017 - The Music Preparatory Division in the Stephen F. Austin State University School of Music has announced its fall recital schedule.
Piano students of SFA music major instructors and students of Dr. Mario Ajero will perform at 2 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 3, in Music Recital Hall in the Tom and Peggy Wright Music Building on the SFA campus.
A number of performances will take place beginning at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 5. Guitar students of Andrew Sperandeo, cello students of Kate Hite and a voice student of Charlotte Davis will perform. The recital will take place in the performance hall in the Music Prep Building, located at 3028 Raguet St.
- Harp students of Emily Mitchell, artist-in-residence for the SFA School of Music, will perform at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 7, in the Music Recital Hall.
- Violin students of Dr. Jennifer Dalmas and cello students of Dr. Evgeni Raychev will perform at 1 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 9, in the Music Recital Hall.
- The Piney Woods Youth Orchestra, directed by Raychev, will perform at 7 p.m. Monday, Dec. 11, in Cole Concert Hall on the SFA campus.
- The SFA Young Violinists, featuring of students of Brenda Josephsen, will perform at 6 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 14, in the Music Recital Hall.
- Piano students of Linda Parr will perform at 4 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 16, in the Music Recital Hall.
- The final fall recital will feature the piano students of Mary Cooper performing at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 17, in Cole Concert Hall.
All recitals are open to the public.
Music Prep offers musical training on any level of proficiency. Overall musicianship is stressed in addition to the study of an instrument. Private music lessons are offered in piano, violin, viola, cello, double bass, harp, classical guitar, voice, percussion, French horn, clarinet, saxophone, composition and flute.
In addition to the Piney Woods Youth Orchestra, Music Prep offers the PineyWoods Fiddlers, an adult piano class, the Raguet Strings adult ensemble and Music Theory Adventures classes. Music Prep teaches all ages, from infants to 80 and beyond. Music therapy is also offered.
For a complete listing of classes and types of instruction available, visit www.music.sfasu.edu/prep or contact Director Pat Barnett at (936) 468-1291.
Stephen F. Austin State University students received top honors at the American Advertising Federation-Houston Student Conference held Nov. 3 and 4. Students from SFA’s School of Art, Department of Management and Marketing, and Department of Mass Communication competed during the conference.
November 17, 2017 Nacogdoches — Six Stephen F. Austin State University students received top honors at the American Advertising Federation-Houston Student Conference held Nov. 3 and 4.
The federation comprises professionals from advertising, marketing and communications disciplines.
Students from SFA’s School of Art, Department of Management and Marketing, and Department of Mass Communication competed during the conference.
SFA students Victor Henson, Houston junior, and Kourtney Williams, San Antonio senior, placed first. Joshua Robertson, Austin junior, placed second. Third-place finishers were seniors Amanda Campbell from Frisco and Jocelyn Paz from Houston, and junior Deon Egenti from Houston.
Three faculty advisors from SFA accompanied the students: Dr. Seth Bradshaw, assistant professor in SFA’s Department of Mass Communication; Peter Andrew, professor in the School of Art; and Dr. Marlene Kahla, professor in the Department of Management and Marketing.
San Jacinto College was this year’s competition sponsor, and students were tasked with developing advertising campaigns designed to increase enrollment among 22 to 34 year olds.
Dozens of students from 13 universities competed and were divided into 12 teams. Each team was allotted eight hours to create a campaign, which included creative aspects, research, marketing and media plans, and a presentation.
Bradshaw said the conference provided students with real-world application of materials discussed in class, as well as connected them to industry professionals.
“The broader goals of the competition and conference included connecting students to industry professionals and local media organizations,” Bradshaw said. “Activities for attendees included a panel discussion from recent college graduates about how to break into the advertising industry, and professionals offered one-on-one feedback to students regarding portfolios and résumés.”
Kahla agrees the conference “enables business students to better understand the roles of marketing, communications and art when working on a project.”
The conference served as a district-level advertising competition and a precursor for students who plan to compete in the national competition in spring 2018.
By Kasi Dickerson, senior marketing communications specialist at Stephen F. Austin State University.
November 10, 2017 - The Stephen F. Austin State University School of Art and the SFA Galleries will host the exhibition “The Patriotic Art of World War I in France” Oct. 31 through Dec. 30 in The Cole Art Center at The Old Opera House in downtown Nacogdoches.
The exhibition features French WWI posters from the extensive collection of Dr. Jere Jackson, Regent’s Professor of History at SFA and director of the Center for East Texas Studies. Topics of the lithographed posters made during WWI address issues concerning the war, and the exhibition includes some posters that focus on children during the war.
In “An Introduction to the Patriotic School of Paris: French Poster Artists of the Great War,” Jackson writes: “It is difficult, even after 100 years, to comprehend the magnitude and the importance of the First World War. It was the Great War of 1914-1918, and not World War II, that presaged the grim horrors which we now associate with the 20th Century wars: machine guns, trenches, tanks, chemical weapons and gas masks, aerial warfare, civilian bombardment, submarine attacks, starvation blockades, concentration camps, atrocities, deportations, vicious propaganda attacks, etc. Yet, on the eve of this war, almost no one foresaw the terrible path that coming events would take.
“Everyone expected the war to be over ‘before the leaves fall’ or ‘by Christmas,’” he continues. “In military matters, for this reason, everyone worshiped the offensive. In non-military matters, on the other hand, most governments including the French believed only in the defensive. The French had the best censor in the world! The government controlled the posting of bills, the flow of paper to the major presses, and the major channels of distribution. Had the war been short as anticipated, victory might have made any positive methods of propaganda unnecessary. After the stalemate in the fall of 1914, however, the new war of wills necessitated the encouragement of morale, patriotism, sacrifice, conservation of resources, and duty; in short, a complete mobilization of French society and resources. Since radio and television were yet to be invented, the main tools available were the products of the printing press – newspapers, magazines, reviews, journals, leaflets, postcards, and most importantly posters. The French Government, however, did not come to a positive use of these potential weapons until very late. Outside the press organs it controlled, the official attitude toward the press and artists was antagonistic.”
The exhibition was planned to coincide with next year’s 100th anniversary of the end of WWI.
Jackson will speak at a reception at 3 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 11, Veteran’s Day. Coffee and cake will be served. The event is sponsored by SFA Friends of the Visual Arts, the Nacogdoches Junior Forum and The Flower Shop. Admission is free. The annual Downtown Art Walk takes place that evening.
The Cole Art Center is located at 329 E. Main St. For more information, call (936) 468-1131.
November 1, 2017 Nacogdoches – The Stone Fort Wind Quintet at Stephen F. Austin State University will perform at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, November 7, in Cole Concert Hall as part of the School of Music’s Calliope Concert Series.
The quintet includes SFA music faculty members Christina Guenther, flute; Kerry Hughes, oboe; Christopher Ayer, clarinet; Charles Gavin, horn; and Lee Goodhew, bassoon.
The program opens with “Pastorale” by Amy Beach.
“This lovely little piece by American pianist-composer Amy Beach features interesting harmonies as the melody floats through the ensemble,” Guenther said.
Composer-conductor-mezzo soprano Jenni Brandon’s “Five Frogs,” a fun piece in six movements depicting various events in the life of frogs, is also on the program.
Each movement features one of the five quintet instruments, Guenther explained. “Leaping” features the clarinet actively jumping in eighth notes; “On the Lily Pad” features the oboe in improvisational melismas; “Swimming” features the horn, melodically, while the rest of the ensemble accompanies; “Bullfrog” features the bassoon as the bullfrog; “Catching Bugs” features the piccolo as the frog (and the horn mouthpiece as the bug); and “Epilogue” closes the work with some returning material from earlier in the piece.
Cuban composer Paquito D’Rivera’s “Wapango,” also on the program, is a short, lively and rhythmic work with a fun Latino flair, according to Guenther.
“‘Wapango’ is a Mexican folk dance and music style, part of the style ‘son huasteco,’” she explained. “The word may be a corruption of the Nahuatl word ‘cuauhpanco’ that literally means ‘on top of the wood,’ alluding to a wooden platform on which dancers can make zapateado dance steps.”
A five-movement piece by American composer Daniel Dorff, “Cape May Breezes” depicts different events in Cape May, such as the autumn monarch migration, dusk at Sunset Beach and night breezes on the boardwalk.
The final work on the program is a short, fun piece by American hornist-composer Lowell “Spike” Shaw. “Dear Tessiel” is a jazz-inspired quintet, Guenther said.
“The title does not refer to an individual, but rather was an exclamation that came into use (and then faded quickly) about the time Shaw first put the tune to paper,” she explained. “It started out as a piano sketch, later surfaced as a ‘chart’ for big dance band, and then was put into quintet form as a concert closer.”
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.
October 27, 2017 Nacogdoches – The Madrigal Singers at Stephen F. Austin State University will present a choral program, “Sacred and Profane,” at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, November 2, in Cole Concert Hall on the SFA campus.
The concert will explore themes of love, nature, the divine and exotic fairy tales, according to Dr. Michael Murphy, director of choral activities at SFA.
The program includes “Trois Chansons,’ or “Three Chansons,” by Maurice Ravel.
These three French songs give an interesting twist to the fairy tale of Red Riding Hood, a song of merciless conflict and a fantasy about forest creatures, Murphy explained.
Also on the program is A Set of Chinese Folk Songs by Chen Yi, who was the first woman in China to receive a Master of Arts in Musical Composition. During the Chinese Cultural Revolution in 1969, Chen was sent to the work camps for forced labor. Even though she was unable to practice her violin for many years, she developed a love for folk songs that she would regularly hear in the countryside.
The SFA Madrigal Singers will perform three of her folk song arrangements. “Diu Diu Deng” has the choir portraying a steam locomotive. “Mayila” is a song about a young girl singing songs and playing the dongbula. And, “Riding on a Mule” exhibits vocal percussive sounds and pentatonic melodies. Now a professor of composition at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, Chen weaves western and eastern influences into her musical compositions.
The ensemble will also perform Igor Stravinsky’s setting of T.S. Eliot’s “The dove descending breaks in the air,” which is composed as a serial or twelve-tone composition.
“The descending dove signals the entrance of the Holy Spirit into the world in order to cleanse humanity,” Murphy explained.
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.
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