Oct. 31, 2008

SEATTLE - At halftime of the Nov. 8 home football contest against Arizona State, the Husky Band and the UW Men's Glee Club will perform, for the first time publicly, "Rise Up With Pride for Washington," the grand prize winner in the University of Washington's recent "Song of Washington" lyrics contest.

The song was scored by award-winning composer and conductor Bill Conti, who is famous for serving as the conductor for the Academy Awards and composing theme songs for such recognizable films as the popular "Rocky" series, "For Your Eyes Only," "The Right Stuff," "Karate Kid" and "Bad Boys.

In a campus-wide contest, senior humanities student Catherine Henderson submitted the winning lyrics and received $1,000 and a lifetime UW Alumni Association membership. The runners-up, Donna Schultz and Jessica Garbern, each received $500. Judges were looking for lyrics that captured the spirit and tradition of the UW, were easy to remember and were easy to sing. A total of 382 entries were submitted.

Henderson, who plays in her own band, Quarter Past 8, with her husband Michael, has been writing songs professionally for the past eight years. The song was initially unveiled at last month's Recognition Gala and Campaign Celebration.

"Rise Up With Pride for Washington" joins a list of several other school songs in the UW's song bank, including "Bells of Washington," written in 1918, "Bow Down to Washington" and the UW alma mater.