NACOGDOCHES, Texas - It's not surprising that SFA student actors are learning from their veteran counterparts performing in the upcoming play "August: Osage County." But what has been refreshing for Brad Maule and Rhonda Plymate Simmons is what they are learning from the theatre students.

The Stephen F. Austin State University School of Theatre will present Tracy Letts' rollicking tale at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, April 28 through May 2, in W.M. Turner Auditorium on the SFA campus. A 2 p.m. Saturday matinee is also scheduled.

NACOGDOCHES, Texas - Stephen F. Austin State University's Wind Symphony will perform Andrew Boysen's monumental Symphony No. 6 at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 28, in the Grand Ballroom of the Baker Pattillo Student Center.

Commissioned by Andrew Mast, director of bands at Lawrence University, the 2010 composition "is indeed grand in scale and scope," said Dr. David Campo, associate director of bands at SFA and the symphony's conductor.

NACOGDOCHES, Texas - Stephen F. Austin State University's Orchestra of the Pines will present "Musical Portraits" at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 25, in Cole Concert Hall of the Wright Music Building on the SFA campus.

Among the highlights of the concert is a performance of Russian composer Modest Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition," arranged by Maurice Ravel. Other program features include a solo performance by Dr. Chris Ayer, SFA professor of clarinet, and the orchestra performing "Gates of the Arctic," written by Dr. Stephen Lias, SFA's composer-in-residence.

NACOGDOCHES, Texas - Stephen F. Austin State University's environmental science program was named as one of the nation's top 50 programs by environmentalscience.org, an organization that serves as an advocate for environmental science education and careers.

NACOGDOCHES, Texas - The Stephen F. Austin State University Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture will host its annual Farm and Forestry Day from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, April 25, at the Walter C. Todd Agricultural Research Center.

The family friendly event aims to expose the community to the outdoors and agriculture by providing free, exploratory opportunities, including hayrides, face painting, outdoor cooking and nature-based activities through Nacogdoches Naturally, an outdoor adventure program of SFA Gardens.

NACOGDOCHES, Texas - Immediately after Dr. Roger Masse, assistant professor of wildlife in Stephen F. Austin State University's Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture, completed his lecture on safety and the best techniques for finding vertebrates like salamanders and lizards, 25 eighth-graders from Nacogdoches County ISD middle schools enthusiastically ventured out into the sun-dappled forest floor of SFA's Tucker Woods, turning over logs and peering into thickets for the elusive creatures.

NACOGDOCHES, Texas - Participants in the Nacogdoches Boys & Girls Club's ImageMakers photography program will display their award-winning works in an exhibition that opens with a reception at 6 p.m. Thursday, July 23, at The Cole Art Center @ The Old Opera House in downtown Nacogdoches.

The exhibit was organized by the Nacogdoches Photographic Association and funded through a Community Outdoor Program grant provided by Texas Parks and Wildlife and administered by the gardens education staff at Stephen F. Austin State University, according to Elton Scifres, NPA member.

NACOGDOCHES, Texas - Only a few performance dates remain in this year's SFA SummerStage Festival featuring "The Emperor's New Clothes: The Musical" by Karen Boettcher-Tate and Bill Francoeur and "The Glass Menagerie" by Tennessee Williams.

Audiences have responded enthusiastically to both productions, posting glowing reviews on social media.

NACOGDOCHES, Texas - Gary Parker was always interested in art. But it wasn't until he was in his 20s that he began to think he could make art his life's work.

And that's what he did, eventually.

"I have an undergraduate degree in biology, so, obviously, I wasn't headed in that direction at first," he said. "After I got my undergraduate degree, I studied some other things, then finally decided that maybe I'd like to try to be an artist."

NACOGDOCHES, Texas - Local art lovers look forward to July each year because it signals one of their favorite events - the annual 12X12 fundraiser of the SFA Friends of the Visual Arts.

And this year's event has an added bonus: Two pieces by artists who had solo shows at the Cole Art Center this past year, one by David Yapp and another by Stuart Riordan, have been donated to the auction.