(Ashland, Ore.) – The Music program of the Oregon Center for the Arts at Southern Oregon University presents the SOU Wind Ensemble performing “From Spain with Love” on Thursday, June 4 at 7:30 p.m. in the SOU Music Recital Hall. The concert has a delicious Spanish twist and features the Music program’s Concerto winner, saxophonist Hope Erickson.
Featured works are “Carmen” by George Bizet, “Adagio for Winds” by Joaquin Rodrigo, “Amparito Roca” by Jaime Texidor, “La Meziquita de Cordoba” by Julie Giroux, and “Pas Redouble” by Camille Saint Saens. “La Mezquita de Córdoba” was inspired by the composer’s experience of the history and majesty of the “La Gran Mezquita” while visiting Córdoba, Spain. Written in chamber style, the work eludes to more exotic colors. The concert will conclude with “Zacatecas” by Mexican composer Genaro Codina, considered Mexico’s second national anthem.
“The goal was to end the year on a highly energized note,” said Dr. Cynthia Hutton, the ensemble director, “as well as to expose our students to this untiringly beautiful music from Spain with its emphasis on dance rhythms and floral melodies.”
Tickets are $10 for regular admission, $5 for senior citizens and free to full-time students. The Performing Arts Box Office is located in the Music Recital Hall lobby. Box office hours are noon to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and two hours prior to each performance. Tickets can be purchased with a credit card over the phone by calling 541-552-6348 or online at oca.sou.edu/box-office. Contact the box office for discounts offered to SOU alumni, Osher Lifelong Learning Institute participants and SNAP/Oregon Trail cardholders.
About Southern Oregon University
Southern Oregon University provides outstanding student experiences, valued degrees, and successful graduates. SOU is known for excellence in faculty, intellectual creativity and rigor, quality and innovation in connected learning programs, and the educational benefits of its unique geographic location. SOU was the first university in Oregon—and one of the first in the nation—to offset 100 percent of its energy use with clean, renewable power, and it is the first university in the nation to balance 100 percent of its water consumption. Visit sou.edu.
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(Ashland, Ore.) — Officials from Southern Oregon University and Klamath Community College have signed an agreement that is designed to increase the rate of students transferring from KCC to SOU and result in more associate and bachelor’s degree completions at the two institutions in coming years.
The memorandum of understanding, which was signed by SOU President Roy Saigo and KCC President Roberto Gutierrez during a signing ceremony at KCC on May 15, promotes seamless transfer with no loss of credits for KCC students who follow articulated pathways to SOU.
It also allows for concurrent enrollment, whereby students can be admitted to and actively enrolled in courses at both institutions simultaneously.
“This agreement provides pathways for us to better serve students and better serve our state and region,” said Dr. Saigo. “By adding KCC to our list of partner institutions, more southern Oregonians will have an opportunity to pursue a bachelor’s degree at SOU and we come one step closer to achieving the state’s ambitious 40-40-20 goals.”

Devised by former Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber and adopted by the Oregon Legislature, 40-40-20 calls for 40 percent of Oregonians to have a baccalaureate degree or higher, 40 percent to have an associate degree or professional certification, and for the remaining 20 percent to have at least a high school diploma or its equivalent by 2025.
“This new partnership creates opportunities for our students to pursue further education at SOU in a number of articulated programs,” Dr. Gutierrez said. “We are also working on a reverse transfer option that would allow KCC students who transfer to SOU prior to completing their associate degree to be awarded that degree once required courses are completed at SOU. This is very exciting for our students and our community.”
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About Southern Oregon University
Southern Oregon University provides outstanding student experiences, valued degrees, and successful graduates. SOU is known for excellence in faculty, intellectual creativity and rigor, quality and innovation in connected learning programs, and the educational benefits of its unique geographic location. SOU was the first university in Oregon—and one of the first in the nation—to offset 100 percent of its energy use with clean, renewable power, and it is the first university in the nation to balance 100% of its water consumption. Visit sou.edu.

(Ashland, Ore.) — Southern Oregon University is pleased to announce that SOU alumnus—and current head football coach at University of Oregon—Mark Helfrich will be this year’s featured speaker during the University’s Commencement ceremony on June 13.

Helfrich, who had a decorated career as a student athlete at SOU before his successful coaching career, graduated from SOU with a bachelor’s degree in biology in 1996. He played football for the Raiders from 1992-1995, earning NAIA Honorable Mention All-America honors in 1993. That same season he would set team records for pass attempts in a season, passing yards in a season, passing touchdowns in a season, and total offense.

Though all of those records have since been broken, Helfrich still ranks as one of the most successful quarterbacks in Raider history, not only on the field but also in the classroom, having been named both an NAIA Scholar Athlete and FA Academic All-Star. He was inducted into the SOU Athletics Hall of Fame in 2012.
After years as one of the nation’s top assistant coaches, Helfrich’s head coaching career got off to a fast start in 2013 as he led the Ducks to an 11-2 record and a victory in the Alamo Bowl over University of Texas. Last season, under Helfrich’s leadership, the Ducks went 13-2, including victories in the Pac-12 Football Championship Game and the 2015 Rose Bowl semifinal game before falling to Ohio State in the 2015 College Football Playoff National Championship Game.
In a letter to SOU President Roy Saigo, Helfrich stated “It is with great humility and pleasure that the offer to deliver the commencement address at this year’s graduation ceremony is officially accepted. Thank you very much for this distinguished honor.”
SOU’s Commencement ceremony will take place Saturday, June 13, at Raider Stadium. The processional begins at 8:45 a.m. and the ceremony starts at 9 a.m. Commencement will be aired live on RVTV and archived for later viewing. Seating is available on a first come, first serve basis.
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About Southern Oregon University
Southern Oregon University provides outstanding student experiences, valued degrees, and successful graduates. SOU is known for excellence in faculty, intellectual creativity and rigor, quality and innovation in connected learning programs, and the educational benefits of its unique geographic location. SOU was the first university in Oregon—and one of the first in the nation—to offset 100 percent of its energy use with clean, renewable power, and it is the first university in the nation to balance 100% of its water consumption. Visit sou.edu.

(Ashland, Ore.) —Southern Oregon University is planning once again to showcase student and faculty research and performance art projects during its 8^th annual Southern Oregon Arts and Research (SOAR) event, taking place May 11-15 throughout SOU’s main campus in Ashland.
A weeklong event with a program of ongoing concurrent sessions, SOAR brings together an array of disciplines, projects, and displays, with the students and faculty responsible for the work available to discuss and explain it.
“This is one of my favorite events of the year,” said Jeffrey Gayton, Director of SOU’s Learning Commons and University Librarian. “There is a wide variety of multi-disciplinary work that will be presented during SOAR week. This event really serves as a bridge between the classroom and the community and provides an opportunity for students to share some of their creative and academic accomplishments with a wide audience.”
SOAR week begins with an opening ceremony Monday, May 11, at noon, then continues with demonstrations, performances, and presentations throughout the day for the rest of the week.
Art exhibitions that will be on display in Hannon Library during SOAR week—and throughout the month of May—include “10 Years, 9 Months, 3 Weeks, and 5 Days,” a multi-media display and introduction to the topic of modern-day atrocities; “BECOMING,” a documentary film chronicling the SOU football national championship season; and “Jim Rock Historic Can Collection,” a series of images of historic cans assembled by Jim Rock over his career as an archaeologist with the US Forest Service.
Another highly anticipated presentation is “Vulnerability of the Nation’s Critical Infrastructure,” a demonstration by Dr. Lynn Ackler and seven computer science students that focuses on the Rogue Valley and includes research posters, architectural models, technology hardware, and visually compelling graphics illustrating what could happen should a hacker disable or disrupt local civil infrastructure. The goal of the project is to create awareness regarding the liabilities of these important computer systems. The group will also display the demo in Salem on May 19.
“There will be academic presentations on topics including an analysis of the battle at Captain Jack’s Stronghold during the Modoc War, food insecurity, the impacts of agriculture on water quality, voter engagement, the effects of urban forestry on crime in Josephine County, the benefits of bilingual education, and much, much more,” according to Gayton. “There truly is something for everybody during SOAR, and far too much going on to name everything.”
Admission to all SOAR events is free and open to the public, and free parking will be available campus-wide during SOAR week. For more information, and a complete schedule of events, please visit www.sou.edu/soar.
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About Southern Oregon University
Southern Oregon University provides outstanding student experiences, valued degrees, and successful graduates. SOU is known for excellence in faculty, intellectual creativity and rigor, quality and innovation in connected learning programs, and the educational benefits of its unique geographic location. SOU was the first university in Oregon—and one of the first in the nation—to offset 100 percent of its energy use with clean, renewable power, and it is the first university in the nation to balance 100% of its water consumption. Visit sou.edu.

(Ashland, Ore.) – The Music program of the Oregon Center for the Arts at Southern Oregon University presents “Dance You Monster,” performed by the SOU Jazz Ensemble and SOU Jazz Collective on Friday, May 15 at 7:30 p.m. in the SOU Music Recital Hall.
The title piece performed by the SOU Jazz Ensemble is “Dance You Monster to My Soft Song!,” a composition by Maria Schneider inspired by the 1922 Paul Klee painting of the same name. “This piece uniquely mixes jazz and symphonic sounds in unpredictable ways that are not usually heard at standard jazz performances,” said director Dan Kocurek. “It’s relentless, intense and creepy cool” as it recreates Klee’s painting for the mind’s eye.
In contrast, the concert program includes Dan Cavanaugh’s “Having Built in Deeper Water,” which offers a beautiful, slow build of bright, simple, colorful chords, all the way to the end. It drops a bright, shimmery, hopeful note into the evening.  The program will include the Snarky Puppy tune “Binky,” arranged by percussion student Jake Riggs, and Gershwin’s famous “Embraceable You,” arranged by saxophone student Daniel Chavez and featuring vocalist Taylor Tavares.
The second half of the program features the SOU Jazz Collective, directed by Master of Music Performance graduate student Tony Hayes. The Collective features six horns, a rhythm section of keyboard, guitar, drums and bass, and singers Tavares and Corin Wesman. The group will perform “What is Hip?” by Tower of Power; “Sir Duke” by Stevie Wonder; a Miles Davis medley; and “Freedom Jazz” by Eddie Harris. Hayes arranged all four songs for the Collective.
Kocurek leads the trumpet studio at the Oregon Center for the Arts at Southern Oregon University and the SOU Raider Band. “I’m new to SOU, having just come here in January, and we’ve completely reworked the jazz program,” he said. “There hasn’t been a big band sound at SOU in a long time. I am blown away that these students are performing at a professional level in our second term together. I performed these same sets at the Jazz Lab at University of Oregon, one of the top jazz groups in the country, and here SOU students are doing a professional job of it, right away.”
Kocurek has made multiple appearances with the University of British Columbia Symphony Orchestra, Wind Ensemble and Chamber Strings, as well as the Vancouver Bach Choir, the Pro Nova Ensemble and the Vancouver Metropolitan Orchestra. He also was the lead trumpet in the world-renowned Dallas Brass. His travels have led to performances with Jens Lindemann,Mark Gould, Ryan Anthony, Marty Hackleman, Alain Trudel, Nancy DiNovo and Bobby Shew, among many others. He plays trumpet in this season’s Oregon Shakespeare Festival production of “Guys and Dolls.”
Hayes is an accomplished saxophone musician who attended Berklee College of Music and studied saxophone with Jerry Bergonzi, George Garzone, Joe Viola and Jerry Coker. He has extensively toured with such groups as Mikey Dread, Arturo Sandoval, Sugarcreek and Bill Deal and the Rhondells. He also wrote original songs for Robbie Wyckoff and co-produced a solo recording for Bobby Thomas, Jr., of the Weather Report.
Tickets are $10 for regular admission, $5 for senior citizens and free to full-time students. The Performing Arts Box Office is located in the Music Recital Hall lobby. Box office hours are noon to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and two hours prior to each performance. Tickets can be purchased with a credit card over the phone by calling 541-552-6348 or online at oca.sou.edu/box-office. Contact the box office for discounts offered to SOU alumni, Osher Lifelong Learning Institute participants and SNAP/Oregon Trail cardholders.
About Southern Oregon University
Southern Oregon University provides outstanding student experiences, valued degrees, and successful graduates. SOU is known for excellence in faculty, intellectual creativity and rigor, quality and innovation in connected learning programs, and the educational benefits of its unique geographic location. SOU was the first university in Oregon—and one of the first in the nation—to offset 100 percent of its energy use with clean, renewable power, and it is the first university in the nation to balance 100 percent of its water consumption. Visit sou.edu.
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