Billy Henry, a voice talent, musician, composer, and college lecturer in Austin, will become the third narrator of the StarDate radio program in its 41-year history. He assumes the title from Sandy Wood, who retired from the program effective July 16. Henry’s first program will air the following day.
“I feel extremely privileged to be a part of the StarDate team,” says Henry. “I’ve been listening for years and now I get to be the voice. What a great experience.”
“I’ve had the privilege to work with the first two StarDate announcers, Joel Block and Sandy Wood, and I know that Billy will maintain the high standards these great talents have established for the show,” says StarDate producer Damond Benningfield. “Billy and I have worked together before, so I knew he would be a really good fit for our style and content. I’m looking forward to many years of working together.”
Henry is involved in many creative fields. He is a lecturer at Texas State University in San Marcos, teaching classes in writing music for TV and film, mixing for TV and film, and an introduction to desktop production. He has also taught at The University of Texas at Austin, and done sound design and other creative projects for the theater department.
Henry has written or mixed hundreds of pieces of music for commercial clients ranging from Chili’s to AT&T to Southwest Airlines. In 1999, he wrote the score for the film “American Detective,” and in recent years he has joined the world tours of The Court Yard Hounds, Shakira, and the Dixie Chicks.
Henry also describes himself as a “maker of things,” including musical instruments. He also has a pilot’s license and is working toward his commercial rating.