
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, March 1, 1994                   TAG: 9403010134
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B-2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

COMPOSER, ARTIST, MUSICIAN WHITLOCK DIES

Musician and artist Audrey Whitlock, composer of the theme for the play "Henry Street," died Thursday. She was 89.

She tought piano to many Roanoke youths, and played the organ and directed the choir for Fifth Avenue United Presbyterian Church.

She was involved in the 1986 production of "Henry Street," composing the theme song and portraying the grandmother in the play.

Whitlock also co-wrote an operetta, "The Devil is a Busy Man," about overcoming evil by behaving justly. Her son, David Whitlock Jr., said the piece was performed six times, once to raise money to buy an organ for the Presbyterian Church.

Born in 1905, Whitlock grew up at the Christiansburg Institute, a farm school supported by a Philadelphia-based Quaker organization as a way to help Southern blacks overcome the consequences of slavery. Her father, Edgar Long, was principal of the school until his death. His wife, Anna Long, completed his term.

Whitlock attended Knoxville College and Howard University.

Whitlock never had formal art training, although her oil paintings of faces and landscapes have been displayed at the Harrison Heritage Cultural Center, hospitals and schools.

by CNB