Gerry LaFemina and Amy Fleury on tap for Thursday's reading
NACOGDOCHES, TX, Feb. 23, 2009 -- The Stephen F. Austin State University Department of English and Philosophy will host award-winning poets Gerry LaFemina and Amy Fleury as part of the department’s spring reading series.
LaFemina is the author of several poetry collections including “The Parakeets of Brooklyn,” and he directs and teaches at the Frostburg Writing Center in Frostburg, Md. Fleury is the author of a collection of poems titled “Beautiful Trouble,” which won the Crab Orchard First Book Award and was named a top ten book of 2004 by the Kansas City Star.
The SFA reading series strives to “promote literacy by introducing accomplished writers to the community and allow them to witness literature first hand as an ongoing and living process,” said Dr. Daryl Farmer, assistant professor of English and coordinator of the event. This reading is the first of three in a series scheduled this spring.
The reading will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 26, in Liberal Arts North, Room 102, on the SFA campus. The reading is free of charge and open to the public.
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Locals to polish green thumbs at azalea symposium
NACOGDOCHES, TX, Feb. 19, 2009 -- Whether your prized and pampered azaleas are the talk of the town or you have the blackest thumb in the neighborhood, the upcoming Azalea Trail Symposium is the place to be March 21.
Titled “Azaleas and More – Companion Planting,” the symposium will be held from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, March 21, in the Agriculture Building at Stephen F. Austin State University. Registration is $50 per person or $20 for students and includes the workshop, lunch, a grafting knife, a plant and a guided tour of SFA’s Ruby M. Mize Azalea Garden, the largest of its kind in Texas. Barbara Stump, the Mize garden’s primary designer, said the symposium will provide information on colorful garden companions for azaleas such as Japanese maples and perennials. The program should be helpful to master gardeners and novices alike. The only prerequisite for attendance is being an admirer of these beautiful flowering shrubs.
“We are so lucky to have so many experienced and renowned speakers in Nacogdoches for the symposium this year,” said Ashleigh Endicott, meeting and event coordinator for the Nacogdoches Convention & Visitors Bureau. Elizabeth Mundy, owner of Acer Acres in Beaverdam, Va., will speak on “Japanese Maples in the Landscape.” Her firm grafts 400 different varieties of the tree. SFA Research Associate Dawn Stover will present “Perennials for Shade” based on her years of experience with plant evaluations at the SFA Mast Arboretum. The guided tour will let guests in on design secrets of the Mize Azalea Garden.
The Azalea Symposium is part of the annual Nacogdoches Azalea Trail, which will be held March 14-31. The event also will feature a floral-design exhibit, plant sale, Little Princess Garden Party and more than 22 miles of self-guided driving tours.
For more information or to register for the Azalea Symposium, contact the Nacogdoches Convention & Visitors Bureau at 1-888-OLDEST-TOWN or visit www.nacogdochesazaleas.com.
Source: SFA Release
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6th through 8th graders invited to explore technological careers
NACOGDOCHES, TX, Feb. 12, 2009 -- Girls in sixth through eighth grades may investigate careers ranging from nursing to crime solving at the Feb. 28 “Expanding Your Horizons in Mathematics and Science” conference at Stephen F. Austin State University.
The annual conference nurtures girls’ interest in science and math courses and encourages them to consider careers in science, technology, engineering and math. The event is hosted by SFA and the local chapter of the American Association of University Women and attracts more than 300 participants each year.
The girls choose from more than 30 different 45-minute career workshops offered, including business ownership, photography, forensic science, journalism, chemistry and veterinary medicine. Many of the jobs highlighted are not traditionally held by women and involve math, science or both.
The conference will be held from 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 28, in the Baker Pattillo Student Center at SFA. Parents and teachers are invited to attend a separate workshop, which includes a tour of the SFA campus.
The registration fee for both girls and adults is $15 and includes lunch, a conference T-shirt and a chance to win door prizes. The girls also will receive a goody backpack for participating. The registration deadline is Feb. 21.
Registration forms and other information may be found online at
sfasu.edu/go/nac-eyh.
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SFA to present 'The Music of Fred Rogers'.
NACOGDOCHES, TX, Jan. 28, 2009 - Tracy Ward, adjunct music instructor at Stephen F. Austin State University, will present a faculty lecture recital on the music of Fred Rogers at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 2, in Cole Concert Hall on the SFA campus.
Ward, who has done extensive research on Rogers and his music, explained that even though Rogers is best known for his famed 'Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood,' he viewed himself first and foremost as a songwriter.
"In fact, he wrote over 300 songs and operas, and his compositional style employs complex, rich harmonies; unusual settings; and a variety of forms and styles that one would expect from a gifted composer."
Ward's discussion about the songs will include quotes from Rogers’ wife and co-workers that she gathered during interviews. All songs featured will be performed live by Ward and various SFA music faculty and students.
The lecture recital, which is a joint presentation of the SFA College of Fine Arts and School of Music, is free and open to the public. Cole Concert Hall is located in the Tom and Peggy Wright Music Building, 2210 Alumni Dr. For more information, please call (936) 468-6407.
-- Sylvia Bierschenk
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Wide range of music to accompany faculty and guest performers.
NACOGDOCHES, TX., Jan. 22, 2009 -- The Stephen F. Austin State University Repertory Dance Company will perform in concert Jan. 29-31 in W.M. Turner Auditorium. The concert begins at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday and Friday, and 3 PM on Saturday.
The concert features choreography by dance program faculty and guest artists. Dance majors Ashley Dodd and Taryn Taylor also have been invited to have their senior choreographic projects produced.
Musical genres that accompany the dances span a range from classical to rhythmic percussion. SFA dance faculty member Stan Bobo, director of the dance company, has contributed his modern work, Ritual, as well as a re-staging of Anton Dolin’s Pas de Quatre, a tribute to 19th century Romantic ballet. Elizabeth Rhodes has set Suite Balletto, which received accolades from National Dance Association reviewers in a Fort Worth performance last spring. Adjunct faculty member Julie King’s original work, Sunrise to Sunset, features lyrical group design.
Guest artist Tiffanee Arnold from Collin College also worked with the dance company in the fall semester to restage her work Momentum. The dance is an exploration of balance, quick energy changes and group dynamics. Rashana Smith, an independent choreographer, has staged Notes on Life, a driving quartet to music by Philip Glass. In addition, former faculty member Christy Gorman worked with two company members to elicit the fluid, languid qualities of movement required in Lowland Lullabye.
The dance program, which is part of SFA’s Department of Kinesiology and Health Science, will collaborate once again with faculty and students from the School of Theatre to bring the works to full production.
Tickets, which will be sold at the door, are $15 for general admission, $10 for SFA faculty, staff and senior citizens, and $5 for students. For further information, call (936) 468-3503 or email dance@sfasu.edu.
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Musicians Matthew Dane, Greg Sauer to perform.
NACOGDOCHES, TX., Jan. 22, 2009 -- The SFA College of Fine Arts and School of Music will present guest musicians Matthew Dane, viola, and Greg Sauer, cello, in a recital, “Around the World in Sixty Minutes,” at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Jan. 26, in Cole Concert Hall.
The musicians, both of whom are serving as judges in the Senior Division of the Schmidbauer International Young Artist String Competition Jan. 24 and 25 at SFA, are extending their visit to Nacogdoches to give the recital. Gene H. Moon, SFA director of orchestral activities, will join the duo on piano.
The program, which consists of both solo and duo works, will include music by J.S. Bach, Gaspar Cassadó, Franz Danzi, György Kurtág, Astor Piazzolla and Walter Piston.
Dane is a member of the music faculty at the Metropolitan State College in Denver and the University of Colorado. He is also a member of the Boulder (Col.) Piano Quartet. Sauer, associate professor of cello at Florida State University, is the assistant principal cellist of the Colorado Music Festival Orchestra.
The recital is free and open to the public. For more information, please call (936) 468-6407 or (888) 240-ARTS.
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