Our Chorale
We are honored to sing for, and with, the Fountain Inn and surrounding Upstate South Carolina communities in the celebration of moving and fun choral music.
Our Vision
The Fountain Inn Chorale is an auditioned, all-volunteer ensemble united by a shared love of choral music. We exist to create a welcoming artistic home for singers across Upstate South Carolina and to champion the enduring power and beauty of choral singing in our community.
Our Mission
The mission of the Fountain Inn Chorale is to educate, entertain, and engage with our local and regional community through the preparation and quality performance of choral music of all styles and from all historical periods.
Our Values
We believe that the act of singing together draws us closer and gives our family, friends, and community a sense of a shared heritage expressed in song. The bonds that connect human beings are much deeper than any that divide us. When we sing these songs of our own time and songs that celebrate faith and country, we endow ourselves with greater humanity and spread that humanity to others.
Our Story
The Fountain Inn Chorale began in 2009 as a project of the City of Fountain Inn, launching its inaugural season at the Younts Center with a bold vision: to bring high-quality choral music to our growing community.
What began as a civic initiative quickly became something more — a vibrant artistic home for singers and audiences alike.
In 2014, under the leadership of Director Jane Morlan, the Chorale entered a season of remarkable artistic growth and community engagement. Performances expanded in scope and ambition, audiences increased, and the Chorale’s reputation for musical excellence deepened throughout the region.
By 2017, the Fountain Inn Chorale had matured into an independent, self-funded nonprofit organization, earning 501(c)(3) charitable tax-exempt status. With that milestone came both opportunity and responsibility. Singers committed themselves not only artistically, but financially, contributing annual dues. Grants were pursued and awarded. Donors stepped forward to invest in a shared cultural vision.
Through every season of change, the music never stopped.
In 2019, a generous community partner provided rehearsal and performance space, as well as storage for our growing library and materials. That stable home sustained us through the uncertainty of the pandemic, and in the fall of 2021 our singers returned with renewed energy, gratitude, and purpose.
Today, under the leadership of Artistic Director and Conductor Donald W. Duncan, the Chorale continues to thrive. We rehearse at the Younts Center for the Performing Arts on Monday evenings for approximately forty weeks each year, preparing performances that enrich, inspire, and unite our community.
Our Music
Since 2009, the Fountain Inn Chorale has presented:
Major works of the choral masterworks tradition
Spirituals and music rooted in the American experience
Broadway favorites and beloved holiday programs
Appalachian arrangements and regional repertoire
Newly commissioned works by contemporary composers
Our programs have featured music by Aaron Copland, Norman Dello Joio, Dan Forrest, Elaine Hagenberg, Shelton Ridge Love, Rollo Dilworth, André Thomas, Robert Edgerton, William Dawson, Moses Hogan, Eric Whitacre, and many others.
We believe that choral singing builds community. Each performance represents hundreds of volunteer hours, disciplined preparation, and the generous support of donors who believe that the arts matter.
