Photo: HSU First Lady Carol Hall, along with committee members Nancy Jones and Jane Hager, lay out table floor plan for scholarship luncheon
A little known and rarely called upon configuration of one of HSU’s buildings will be put into action Tuesday, March 26, 2013, to accommodate an overflow crowd.
When Grammy-award winning gospel singer Cynthia Clawson makes an appearance tomorrow during HSU’s Round Table Scholarship Luncheon, Larry Wheeler, associate professor and head of the HSU Department of Theatre, knows a trick that will make additional seating available for anyone who was not able to buy a ticket for the luncheon.
The stage curtain in Van Ellis will be pulled back to reveal another 1,800 seats in Behrens Auditorium to accommodate overflow guests to the event.
HSU’s performance venues, Van Ellis Theatre and Behrens Auditorium, are actually contained in the same building, attached at the stage. When barriers are removed, the whole building can opened to reveal the entertainment on the stage from both sides.
Anyone wishing to attend the event that does not have a ticket to the luncheon will be accommodated in the auditorium. Tickets, $10 cash, may be purchased at the door of Behrens Auditorium beginning at noon on Tuesday, February 26, 2013.
About Clawson
Referred to as the “singer’s singer” and called “The most awesome voice in gospel music” by Billboard Magazine, Cynthia Clawson headlines the HSU Round Table Scholarship Luncheon on Tuesday, February 26, 2013.
Clawson has received a Grammy and five Dove awards for her work as a songwriter, vocal artist, and musician. With a career spanning more than four decades, she has 22 recordings to her credit. She won the Grammy for the Best Gospel Performance in the contemporary/inspirational category in 1981 and performed on the Grammy Awards show that year.
Clawson has performed with award-winning contemporary Christian singers/songwriters, Bill and Gloria Gaither, and is a frequent guest on the Bill and Gloria Gaither Homecoming Series. She has also performed in a variety of prestigious venues, including a concert at London's Wembley Stadium.
In 1985, Clawson’s rendition of “Softly and Tenderly” was included in the soundtrack of the Academy Award winning movie The Trip to Bountiful.
Clawson was born in Austin, Texas, and was just three years old when she performed in the small church her father pastored. As a child, she continued to sing in neighborhood churches and performed on the Hour of Power broadcast from Robert Schuller’s Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, California.
A graduate of Howard Payne University, she won the Arthur Godfrey Talent Show her senior year. Graduating with a major in vocal performance and a minor in piano, Cynthia has since been awarded an honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters from HPU and received a similar honorary degree from Houston Baptist University.
She is married to singer and songwriter Ragan Courtney and lives in Houston, Texas. Children, Lily and Will, have released their own Indie rock CD called Brothers and Sisters.
About the Scholarship and Virtue Award
During its centennial year celebration, Round Table members established the annual luncheon event as a fundraiser for the scholarship that is awarded to a female student during the event.
In addition to the scholarship, The Virtue Award is presented to a woman who has demonstrated support of Hardin-Simmons and reflects the service principles and virtues of the founders of the Round Table organization.
Luncheon Ticket Information
A few individual tickets are still available for the luncheon and entertainment. To purchase by phone, or for more information, call Andrea Cross at (325) 670-1489.