About Dr. Ruth Watson Henderson 1998 West Virginia All-State Children's Chorus Accompanist


A native of Toronto, Ruth Watson Henderson began to play piano at age two and won her first competition when she was four. While studying with Alberto Guerrero at The Royal Conservatory of Music, she completed her ARCT and LRCT, assisted by numerous Conservatory and Kiwanis festival scholarships. Two years of studies at the Mannes College of Music in New York followed, and then, after returning to Toronto in 1954, she embarked on a career as a concert pianist, appearing regularly on the CBC and as a soloist with many Canadian orchestras. In 1968, she became accompanist for the Festival Singers Of Canada, and toured with them frequently in Canada and abroad. During this period, she began writing choral music. Her "Missa Brevis", written in 1974 and dedicated to Elmer Iseler and the Festival Singers, is widely performed internationally by many choirs.

Ms. Henderson has written commissioned works for many outstanding choirs in Canada and the United States. In recent years, her association with Jean Ashworth Bartle and the Toronto Children's Chorus as their regular accompanist, has led to many compositions for young people. She wrote the musical score for "Clear Sky and Thunder", a music-drama about Inuit children, which was premiered by the Toronto Children's Chorus in October, 1984, and later performed by them at Expo '86 in Vancouver. Another commissioned work for the Toronto Children's Chorus is a Christmas fable entitled "The Last Straw". It was premiered in December 1990, with tenor, Ben Heppner, in the solo role and is recorded on the CD "Along the Road To Bethlehem." Her composition, "Voices of Earth", for three choirs, two pianos and percussion, received the Association of Canadian Choral Conductors' National Choral Award for the outstanding choral composition for 1990-1992. Although Ms. Henderson is best known for her choral compositions, she has written pieces for piano and for organ. Her "Chromatic Partita for Organ" received an award in the International Competition for Women Composers in Mannheim, Germany, in 1989.

Ruth Watson Henderson continues to maintain an active career as a pianist, organist and teacher as well as a composer. In 1996, she appeared with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra in the "Carnival of the Animals" by Saint Saens. Currently, she is the accompanist for the Toronto Children's Chorus, The Oriana Singers and the 1997 Ontario Youth Choir.