NACOGDOCHES, TEXAS - The SFA College of Fine Arts and School of Theatre will present a student production of "Animal Keepers" at 7:30 p.m. Friday, March 6, and at 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 7. All shows are in the Downstage Theatre of the Griffith Fine Arts Building, 2222 Alumni Dr.

Within the one-act play, Marian Winters uses a veterinarian's waiting room as a microcosm to explore human nature, explained director Ashley Zednick, Jacksonville senior.

NACOGDOCHES, TEXAS - In celebration of the 200th anniversary of Felix Mendelssohn's birth, the Choral Union and Women's Choir at Stephen F. Austin State University will present a joint concert featuring Mendelssohn's choral works at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 3, in Cole Concert Hall.

"Mendelssohn stood at the forefront of German music during the 1830s and 1840s and ranks with the greatest of nineteenth century composers," said David Howard, director of both choirs.

NACOGDOCHES, TEXAS - The SFA A Cappella Choir's spring concert at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, March 5, will feature some of the music the choir will be performing during its May tour to Italy.

"We invite the East Texas community to Cole Concert Hall to hear a portion of the program we will be singing at St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican City, St. Mark's Basilica in Venice and Santa Maria Maggiore in Florence," said Tim King, SFA director of choral activities and the A Cappella Choir's director.

Mike Williams, lead trumpet for the Count Basie Orchestra, will join the SFA Swingin' Axes and Swingin' Aces jazz bands for their Friday, March 6, concert, "Keeping Count Basie Alive!" The concert will begin at 7:30 p.m. in W.M. Turner Auditorium.

NACOGDOCHES, TEXAS - Mike Williams, lead trumpet for the Count Basie Orchestra, will be the featured soloist during "Keeping Count Basie Alive," a concert by the Stephen F.

NACOGDOCHES, Texas-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.

NACOGDOCHES, Texas - 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.

NACOGDOCHES, TEXAS - The Stephen F. Austin State University College of Fine Arts and School of Music will present Kenneth Saxon in a guest piano recital at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 22, in Cole Concert Hall on the SFA campus.

The highlight of the program will be Robert Schumann's "Fantasie in C, Op. 17," according to Dr. Andrew Parr, SFA professor of piano. "The large-scale, youthful work is full of secret musical messages to Schumann's future wife, Clara, whom the composer was forbidden to see," Parr explained.

Parsons Dance will present a program of contemporary dances at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 7, in W.M. Turner Auditorium as part of the Stephen F. Austin State University College of Fine Arts' University Series.

NACOGDOCHES, TEXAS - Parsons Dance, renowned as one of America's most successful contemporary dance companies, will bring its athleticism and artistry to W.M. Turner Auditorium at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 7, as part of the Stephen F.

NACOGDOCHES, TEXAS - The Orchestra of the Pines will present "Broadway, Movies and Classics" in Cole Concert Hall at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 28, and again at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, March 1.

"We have received much encouragement from the community and faculty to offer a pops concert during our regular season," said Gene H. Moon, director of orchestral activities at SFA and the orchestra's music director. "And we are excited to be offering both an evening and afternoon concert to accommodate the anticipated crowds."

NACOGDOCHES, TEXAS - The Stephen F. Austin State University College of Fine Arts and School of Music will present trombonist Jonathan Whitaker in a guest artist recital at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 24, in the Music Recital Hall of the Tom and Peggy Wright Music Building.

Whitaker, assistant professor of low brass at Henderson State University in Arkadelphia, Ark., and pianist May Tsao-Lim, also of HSU, will perform the world premiere of Anthony Barfield's newest piece. The program also includes works by G.F. Handel, J.G. Ropartz and Claude Debussy.