[HSChorus] HSPVA 35th Anniversary Concert 24-Apr-2007 13:58:51

Ruth Denney, the founding principal of the High School for Performing and Visual Arts and a nationally recognized high-school and college-level theater educator, died Monday, March 26, in Austin from complications following a hip fracture. She was 93. Denney, who also led the theater program at Mirabeau Lamar High School for almost 20 years, helped develop such talented performers as Tony Award-winning Broadway star Tommy Tune, Robert Foxworth, Carlin Glynn-Masterson, Paula Prentiss, and Jaclyn Smith.

HSPVA will dedicate a performance <http://www.hspva.org/events/?EventID=4> of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, featuring student, faculty, and alumni performers, to her memory. The concert will be held Saturday, May 19, at 7:30 p.m. in the Moores Opera House on the University of Houston campus.

Born April 4, 1914, in Ohio, Denney was a graduate of Ohio Wesleyan University. She moved to Houston in the 1950s after teaching for several years in Ohio. Her Lamar High students won six state championships in the University Interscholastic League's one-act play contest.

In 1971, Denney founded HISD's High School for Performing and Visual Arts, only the third fine-arts Magnet school in the nation. HSPVA honored her by naming its performance hall the Denney Theatre. In 2003, Houston's Theatre Under the Stars organization launched the Tommy Tune Awards for musical-theater excellence at the high-school level, and the Ruth Denney Award recognizes the lifetime achievement of individuals who have played an instrumental role in shaping the lives of young artists. In 1987, she received the Mayor's Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Arts for her role in creating a strong arts community in Houston.

In 1976, Denney joined the University of Texas faculty as a professor of drama education. She was named a professor emerita in 1988, and many of her former students and colleagues honored her by establishing the Ruth Denney Endowed Presidential Scholarship in Theatre. After her retirement, Denney joined the effort to establish the McCallum Fine Arts Academy at Austin's McCallum High School, and in 2002 she was inducted into the Austin Arts Hall of Fame.

Remembering HSPVA Founder Ruth Denney

HSPVA will dedicate a performance of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, featuring student, faculty, and alumni performers, to her memory. The concert will be held Saturday, May 19, at 7:30 p.m. in the Moores Opera House on the University of Houston campus.

In 1971, Denney founded HISD’s High School for Performing and Visual Arts, only the third fine-arts Magnet school in the nation. HSPVA honored her by naming its performance hall the Denney Theatre. In 2003, Houston’s Theatre Under the Stars organization launched the Tommy Tune Awards for musical-theater excellence at the high-school level, and the Ruth Denney Award recognizes the lifetime achievement of individuals who have played an instrumental role in shaping the lives of young artists. In 1987, she received the Mayor’s Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Arts for her role in creating a strong arts community in Houston.

In 1976, Denney joined the University of Texas faculty as a professor of drama education. She was named a professor emerita in 1988, and many of her former students and colleagues honored her by establishing the Ruth Denney Endowed Presidential Scholarship in Theatre. After her retirement, Denney joined the effort to establish the McCallum Fine Arts Academy at Austin’s McCallum High School, and in 2002 she was inducted into the Austin Arts Hall of Fame.

Click to see Concert Flier

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