SANTA ANA : Rancho Santiago Music Teacher Wins Award

Sylvia Turner, music department chair for the Rancho Santiago Community College District, has won the 1994-95 Distinguished Faculty Award, a district spokesman said.

Turner received the award, the highest honor offered a district faculty member, for her work within the college and the community, as well as her leadership and commitment to excellence in teaching, spokesman Dale Ruhe said.

Turner has choreographed four major productions at the South Coast Repertory, an animated computer-generated film for the Luxor Hotel in Las Vegas and helped choreograph “The Lion King” parade at Disneyland. She has also designed more than 15 courses for the dance curriculum and helped sponsor community outreach programs intended to draw high school students to the college, Ruhe said.

As part of her award, she will receive an honorarium as well as deliver a public address during the 1995-96 year, which will be published and distributed to colleges throughout the state, Ruhe said.