TWU Flute Choir performs at convention

The Texas Woman’s University Flute Choir, under the direction of Pamela Youngblood, recently performed at the 37th annual National Flute Association Convention in New York City.

The TWU Flute Choir was one of only four university flute choirs in the nation invited to perform during the convention last weekend. About 20 students from the TWU and Brookhaven College flute choirs, both directed by Youngblood, performed on Saturday.

This year’s convention honored Sir James Galway.

The TWU choir premiered a fantasia on Red River Valley, a commissioned work by Kelly Via of Atlanta.

Pulitzer nominee to speak at symposium

Yvonne Thornton, the first black woman in the U.S. to be board certified in high-risk obstetrics, and a Pulitzer nominee for her family’s biography, The Ditchdigger’s Daughters, will serve as the keynote speaker during Texas Woman’s University’s annual “The Power of a Healthy Woman Symposium.”

Women are invited to attend the half-day event, which focuses on women’s health. The symposium will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. Sept. 19 in the auditorium of the Multipurpose Classroom and Laboratory Building.

For a map of the Denton campus, visit www.twu.edu/maps.asp. Registration is $15 before Sept. 10, and $20 on site. Space is limited, so participants are encouraged to register early. For more information, visit www.twu.edu/ce.

Sponsors include the National Dairy Council, Denton Municipal Electric, Denton AgriLife Extension, the TWU Leadership Institute, the TWU Institute for Women’s Health and the TWU Department of Sociology and Social Work.

Thornton’s 1995 family biography became a national bestseller. The book was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize, was made into an award-winning cable television movie and was featured on The Oprah Winfrey Show.

Thornton will speak about how her father, Donald Thornton, overcame incredible obstacles to give his daughters a better life.

Yvonne Thornton is a double-board certified specialist in obstetrics, gynecology and maternal-fetal medicine and is a former professor of clinical obstetrics and gynecology at Cornell University Medical College. She is a diplomate of the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology and a fellow of the American College of Surgeons. She received her medical degree and executive master’s of public health degree from Columbia University.

Featured speakers at the symposium also include Nancy Granovsky, regents fellow, professor and family economics specialist with the Texas AgriLife Extension Service; Abigail Tilton, TWU assistant social work professor and social work program director; Carol S. Ireton-Jones, executive vice president of the Professional Nutrition Therapists organization; and Dr. Wasim A. Haque, a Lewisville physician.