Dene Denny
{{short description|Founder of the Carmel Bach Festival }}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2023}}
{{Infobox artist
| name = Dene Denny
| image = Ethel Adele Denny.jpg
| image_size =
| alt =
| caption = Denny at University of California Berkeley (1907)
| birth_name = Ethel Adele Denny
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1885|02|11}}
| birth_place = Callahan, California, US
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1959|09|24|1885|02|11}}
| death_place = Carmel-by-the-Sea, California, US
| education =
| alma_mater =
| occupation = Pianist, teacher
| known_for =
| notable_works = Denny-Watrous Studio (Harmony House)
Ann Nash-Dorthy Bassett House (1921){{cite web|url=https://archive.org/details/carmel_historic_survey_volume_i_blocks_a-69/page/n303/mode/2up?view=theater&q=Denny-Watrous|title=Carmel Historic Survey Volume Blocks a69|date=2014|publisher=Costal Commission |access-date=2024-01-02}}
| title =
| partner = Hazel Watrous
| spouse =
| children =
}}
Dene Denny (February 11, 1885 – September 24, 1959){{cite document |last=Denny |first=Dene |date=February 11, 1885 |title=California U.S. Death Index 1940-1997 |type=Database |publisher=Department of Public Health Services, Sacramento}} was an American musical theater producer who, along with co-founder Hazel Watrous, established the Denny-Watrous Management. They played pivotal roles in the founding of the Carmel Music Society, the Carmel Bach Festival, and Monterey's First Theater. Their residence, the Denny-Watrous Studio (Harmony House), served as a hub for hosting musical concerts and lectures.{{cite book|last1=Gilliam|first1=Harold|last2=Gilliam|first2=Ann|url=https://archive.org/details/creatingcarmelen00gill/page/160/mode/1up?q=%E2%80%9CDenny-Watrous%E2%80%8B%E2%80%9C |title=Creating Carmel: the enduring vision|publisher=Peregrine Smith Books |place=Salt Lake City|date=1992|pages=67, 152, 160-166|isbn=978-0-87905-397-0 |access-date=2024-01-02}}{{cite book|last=Gordon|first=David J.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dAiFoAEACAAJ|title=Carmel Impresarios A Cultural Biography of Dene Denny and Hazel Watrous|date=2014|publisher=Lucky Valley Press |isbn=978-0-9856655-4-8|access-date=2023-04-12}}{{cite book |last=Seavey|first=Kent|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vsfoKsxi4q4C |title=Carmel, A History in Architecture|publisher=Arcadia Publishing|place=Carmel-by-the-Sea, California |date=2007|pages=109, 123|isbn=9780738547053|access-date=2023-04-05}}
Early life and education
Ethel Adele Denny was born in 1885,{{cite web|url=https://www.montereycountyweekly.com/entertainment/music/since-launching-in-1935-the-carmel-bach-festival-has-been-in-constant-evolution--/article_4b668f66-32c4-11ec-91ec-e773462225dd.html|title=Since launching in 1935, the Carmel Bach Festival has been in constant evolution -- and also holds true to its origins|work=Monterey County Weekly|place=Monterey County, California|date=October 21, 2001|author=Paul Fried|access-date=2023-12-31}} in Callahan, California. Her parents were Albert H. Denny and Gertrude Cadwell.
Denny attended the University of California, Berkeley, where she received a BA and MA degree. She went to New York to take formal piano studies. Denny then established a music studio in San Francisco, where she taught piano.{{cite web |date=1959-09-24 |title=Dene Denny Dies |url=https://archive.org/details/ccarm_003338/mode/2up?q=Denny+%22Little+Chapel%22 |access-date=2023-07-17 |work=Carmel Pine Cone |place=Carmel-by-the-Sea |pages=1, 17}}
Career
In 1922, Denny and Watrous met in San Francisco and quickly became a couple.{{cite book|last=Alinder|first=Mary Street|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SKBOBAAAQBAJ&q=Group+F.64|title=Group F.64 |date=2014|pages=34–35|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing USA |isbn=9781620405550 |oclc=}}
In 1928, the couple secured a lease for the Theatre of the Golden Bough from Edward Kuster, and in 1937 leased California's First Theater in Monterey.{{cite web|url=https://indexes.montereyhistory.org/sites/default/files/peninsula-diary/1961/5-31-1961.pdf|title=California's First Theater|work=Monterey History|place=Monterey, California|date=May 31, 1961|access-date=2023-07-18}}
Death
Denny died at her home in Carmel, California on September 24, 1959.{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/519046332/?match=1&clipping_id=128450430|title=Miss Dene Denny Dies At Home in Carmel|work=The Californian |place=Salinas, California |date=September 24, 1959|page=2|access-date=July 17, 2023}}
See also
References
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{{Commons category}}
{{List of Historic Buildings in Carmel-by-the-Sea}}
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